Atomic Show #324 – Jay Hakes, Author of Presidents and the Planet
Jay Hakes, an accomplished author and historian, visited the Atomic Show to talk about his recently published book, Presidents and the Planet: Climate Change Science and Politics from Eisenhower to Bush. Sometimes referred to as “the untold story of climate change,” Hake’s book is an enlightening jaunt through a history discovered during long days in…
Atomic Show #323 – Julie Kozeracki, Director of Strategy, DOE Loan Programs Office
Julie Kozeracki was the lead author for a U.S. Department of Energy strategy document titled Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear published in September 2024. The document was the result of a multi-agency,…
Atomic Show #322 – Westinghouse’s eVinci micro reactor
Westinghouse’s eVinci is a 15 MWth, 5 MWe micro reactor. Westinghouse often refers to it as a nuclear battery. Unlike conventional nuclear power plants, eVinci uses no water and doesn’t produce steam. The…
Atomic Show #321 – Andrew Harmon, VP Natura Resources
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a construction permit on September 16, 2024 to Abilene Christian University (ACU) to build a molten salt research reactor. This marked the first university research reactor approval…
Matthew Marzano brings valuable education and experience to his potential role as NRC Commissioner
Note: (Added Dec 3, 2024)I have come to the conclusion that Matthew Marzano is not an appropriate choice to be an NRC Commissioner. He should not be confirmed by the Senate, especially in…
Atomic Show #324 – Jay Hakes, Author of Presidents and the Planet
Jay Hakes, an accomplished author and historian, visited the Atomic Show to talk about his recently published book, Presidents and the Planet: Climate Change Science and Politics from Eisenhower to Bush. Sometimes referred…
Atomic Show #323 – Julie Kozeracki, Director of Strategy, DOE Loan Programs Office
Julie Kozeracki was the lead author for a U.S. Department of Energy strategy document titled Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Advanced Nuclear published in September 2024. The document was the result of a multi-agency,…
Atomic Show #322 – Westinghouse’s eVinci micro reactor
Westinghouse’s eVinci is a 15 MWth, 5 MWe micro reactor. Westinghouse often refers to it as a nuclear battery. Unlike conventional nuclear power plants, eVinci uses no water and doesn’t produce steam. The…
Camp Century – Nuclear plant designed, manufactured, constructed & tested in less than 2 years
Under current rules and assumptions, anyone who claims that they can design and build a power-producing nuclear reactor in less than 10-15 years is considered to be naive or hopelessly unrealistic. However, there…
Adams Engine – Goal is cheap, ultra low emission fuel coupled to cheap machinery
Though I am not actively pursuing the idea right now, I have had several opportunities in the past couple of days to explain to people why I made the design decisions I did…
Argentina pours nuclear grade concrete for CAREM, a 25 MWe SMR
On February 8, 2014, Argentina poured its first nuclear grade concrete for CAREM-25, an integrated pressurized water reactor (iPWR) whose design has been in intermittent progress for more than 24 years. Will Davis…
Nuclear plant output in China poised for rapid increases in 2018-2020
The last two days in June 2018 saw the first power generation from two separate first of a kind nuclear plants in China. Taishan 1, a 1650 MWe European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) was…
Irish people should ignore Arnie Gundersen because he’s wrong
A friend who often gets involved in discussions about nuclear energy stories with frightened people in his social media network contacted me to find out what I thought of an article titled Nuclear…
NRC’s imposition of Aircraft Impact rule played a major role in Vogtle project delays and VC Summer failure
Projects that last as long as building nuclear reactors in the U.S. are analogous to extreme endurance competitions in which overall progress is the sum of all stages of the race. There is…
Not quite a "smoking gun" – Coal plant versus nuclear or alternatives
American Municipal Power-Ohio, a nonprofit wholesale power supplier and services provider, is planning to build American Municipal Power Generating Station (AMPGS), a 1000 MWe coal fired power plant in Meigs County, Ohio. The…
Investment Bankers Versus Engineers as Decision Makers – Response to Jerry Taylor of Cato Institute
On April 9, 2010, Jerry Taylor of the Cato Institute paid me the compliment of responding to a post that I labeled as a “smoking gun”. I gave the post that label since…
Esso Italiana paid political parties for specific “corporate objectives” including oil instead of nuclear
In 1972, an Exxon internal audit disclosed that Esso Italiana, Exxon’s Italian subsidiary, had been making payments to Italian political parties that were tied by amount to specific corporate objectives. One of the…
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.