
Using the bully pulpit to energize the atomic energy industry
Part 1. Addressing the nuclear waste issue Nuclear power has been steadily regaining its political and public popularity for about a decade and a half. A number of new laws, head of state actions and international commission decisions have made it clear that nuclear energy’s reliability, contributions to economic growth, safety and cleanliness are valuable…

Atomic Show #331 – Caleb Brooks, Kronos MMR Project lead for University of Illinois
The University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne (UIUC) is planning to build a uniquely capable micro reactor project on its campus. For decades, the university hosted a traditional research reactor that supported important research projects…

Atomic Show #330 – Joe Klecha, CNO The Nuclear Company (TNC)
The Nuclear Company (TNC) describes itself as “a fleet-scale American nuclear deployment company.” TNC is a young, visionary company driven by what business author Jim Collins describes as a BHAG – “Big Hairy…

Atomic Show #329 – Dr. Kathryn Huff, former Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy
The Honorable Dr. Kathryn Huff is an associate professor in the nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is the director of the Advanced Reactor Fuels laboratory…

Atomic Show #328 – Matt Loszak, CEO Aalo
Aalo Atomics is a two year old micro reactor company founded by Matt Loszak, a serial entrepreneur, and Yasir Arafat, a skilled nuclear engineer who previously lead the DOE’s MARVEL advanced micro-reactor demonstration…

Atomic Show #331 – Caleb Brooks, Kronos MMR Project lead for University of Illinois
The University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne (UIUC) is planning to build a uniquely capable micro reactor project on its campus. For decades, the university hosted a traditional research reactor that supported important research projects…

Atomic Show #330 – Joe Klecha, CNO The Nuclear Company (TNC)
The Nuclear Company (TNC) describes itself as “a fleet-scale American nuclear deployment company.” TNC is a young, visionary company driven by what business author Jim Collins describes as a BHAG – “Big Hairy…

Atomic Show #329 – Dr. Kathryn Huff, former Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy
The Honorable Dr. Kathryn Huff is an associate professor in the nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is the director of the Advanced Reactor Fuels laboratory…
NGNP aims to expand nuclear fission out of its electricity producing niche (box)
The NGNP Alliance recently published a thought provoking blog titled Energy Vs. Electricity and Why We Care that clearly explains the basis for their interest in using high temperature gas cooled reactors. That…
Bechtel will “pursue” accelerated mPower development
I’ve relearned a valuable lesson — read press releases and other PR material closely, paying special attention to wiggle words. On Friday, March 4, Bechtel issued a press release titled Bechtel, BWXT to…

Tour of NuScale control room and test facility
Disclosure: I have a small contract to provide NuScale with advice and energy market information. That work represents less than 5% of my income for 2014. On October 20, 2014, I had the…
Markey is lying. The AP1000 design certification has been anything but “fast tracked”
A letter to the editor of the Asheville Citizen-Times published on January 6, 2012 got me riled up. The letter is intended to encourage people who live in Asheville to organize to resist…
NRC wavering on AP1000 decision under pressure by FOE
On May 10, 2011, the Friends of the Earth, a group that has professionally opposed nuclear energy since the late 1960s, issued a press release that challenged the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s refusal…
Tragic day in South Carolina as 5,000 people lose their jobs at VC Summer
Yesterday, about 5,000 people working on the VC Summer expansion project learned that the owners had issued stop work orders effective immediately. They started the day with important jobs paying good wages and…
Dieter Helm – Coal Critic, Atomic Agnostic, Natural Gas Enthusiast
Dieter Helm’s The Carbon Crunch: How We’re Getting Climate Change Wrong–and How to Fix It has the potential to be an influential energy policy book, not just for the UK but for the…
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tells the Colorado Oil and Gas Association that Wind and Solar Plants are Gas Plants
On July 8, 2010, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave a lunchtime speech at Energy Epicenter, the annual conference of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. That speech provides a number of insights that…
How would a Rockefeller crony react to Eddington’s vision of subatomic energy?
Recently an Atomic Insights reader shared a document that inspired a new line of thinking about the chronology of atomic energy development. The inspirational document was a PDF copy of a chapter titled…
Investing in Nuclear
Nuclear investments – enabling the transition to a low-carbon economy

Parnassus Versus Green Century: A Contrast in Styles
Cross-posted from Nucleation Capital June, July and August of 2023 were the three hottest months the Earth has ever seen by such a large margin, it left climate scientists agog. Climate disasters are abounding apace, with the U.S. hit by 23 large-scale disasters, a record-breaking year already. In Pakistan, extreme rainfall and flooding affected 33…

How Hot is Cold Fusion?
The 24th International Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF24) was held at the lovely and spacious Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA over four days in late July. As a venture investor looking at evaluating and investing in a wide range of advanced nuclear ventures, I was invited to participate and/or sponsor the event. While…

Rod Adams
Managing Partner, Nucleation Capital, a venture fund enabling broader investor access to a diverse portfolio of advanced nuclear energy and deep decarbonization ventures. Nuclear energy expert and former submarine Engineer Officer with nuclear propulsion plant experience. Founder, Adams Atomic Engines, Inc. Host and producer, The Atomic Show Podcast.