Resolving the digitalization–sustainability energy paradox: Small Modular Reactor (SMR)-enabled resilience in supply chains

Recent disruptions and sustainability mandates expose a critical paradox in supply chains (SCs). While digitalization enhances visibility and agility, it also increases dependence on continuous, high-quality energy, just as sustainability efforts drive a shift toward intermittent renewable sources. The “Digitalization–Sustainability Energy Paradox” increases the vulnerability of digitally enabled SCs to systemic energy shocks. This paper develops a conceptual framework to explore how Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), as decentralized clean energy sources, can address this paradox by enabling resilient and sustainable operations. Using a scenario-based analysis that contrasts a grid-dependent distribution center with diesel backup versus an SMR-powered facility during a prolonged power outage, we conceptually examine implications for operational continuity, network spillover effects, financial exposure, and environmental implications. This illustrative exploration highlights how the integration of clean energy infrastructure transforms energy from a background utility into a strategic design variable for resilience. The paper contributes to SC management theory by (1) conceptualizing SMRs as enablers of resilience–sustainability alignment, (2) applying paradox and high-reliability perspectives to infrastructure risk, and (3) illustrating how energy architecture influences operational, environmental, and financial outcomes under disruption. Our conceptual analysis underscores the need to treat energy architecture as a strategic design variable and call for new decision-making approaches in the face of compound sustainability challenges. While conceptually promising, the successful deployment of SMRs will depend on addressing societal concerns, regulatory complexity, and long-term waste management through coordinated policy and stakeholder engagement.