
Chris Wright on nuclear power, Nov 6, 2020
Yesterday, Chris Wright was confirmed as the next U.S. Secretary of Energy. After that important step in his energy career, it’s worth taking a few moments to learn what he thinks about nuclear power outside of any political context. In my experience, people like Wright form and hold opinions that do not shift much over…

Atomic Show #325 – Marco Visscher – The Power of Nuclear
After many years as an independent journalist with an antinuclear bent, Marco Visscher began questioning his long-held beliefs. He realized that the accepted alternatives to fossil fuel were not actually reducing fossil fuel…

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…

Atomic Show #325 – Marco Visscher – The Power of Nuclear
After many years as an independent journalist with an antinuclear bent, Marco Visscher began questioning his long-held beliefs. He realized that the accepted alternatives to fossil fuel were not actually reducing fossil fuel…

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,…
McMurdo Station – the New York of the Deep Freeze South
(Note: If you are impatient and do not want to watch cute photos of penguins, skip to 19:06 to learn more about the reasons why the PM-3A, a 1,500 kilowatt nuclear electricity generator…

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…
A Question of Economics: The Answer Depends on the Assumptions
In 1970, President Nixon affirmed that the United States had long term objectives in the Antarctic regions and consolidated responsibility for management and funding of all Antarctic operations under the National Science Foundation….
NAVIGANT analysis of Vogtle expansion provided to JEA in Sep 2017 understates fuel price risks
Aaron Zahn, the interim managing director and CEO of the Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA), believes it is time to give up on the Vogtle expansion project. On August 17, he sent a letter…
Crowd sourced debunking of Gundersen lies about AP1000 & Fukushima
I have an important request for Atomic Insights readers. Our old friend, Arnie Gundersen, has once again violated the admonition that it is better to remain silent and thought to be a fool…
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…
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…
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…

How did an oil shale investor hamstring his atomic energy competition? (Ancient but impactful smoking gun)
During the contentious effort that resulted in passage of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, Sen Eugene D. Milliken (R-CO) played an important role in establishing an attempted US government monopoly over all…
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.