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…
China’s high temperature reactor – pebble bed modular (HTR-PM) achieves its first criticality
On the morning of September 12, 2021, reactor number 1 of the eagerly awaited HTR-PM project was taken critical for the first time. Initial criticality for any new reactor is a big deal…
Prefab Reactors For Off-Grid Users
At the top of Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, for example, electricity for the weather station is provided by a diesel generator using fuel that must be moved by small tanker trucks struggling up…
Smaller nuclear reactors allow decentralized power – some critics not pleased
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. That is one of the sayings that I remember whenever I read works about energy by people like Amory Lovins or Ralph Nader and…
Unintended Consequences – Redesign for Aircraft Impact Rule Calls AP1000 Shield Design Into Question
One of the lessons that should have been learned during the first nuclear age was that rule changes aimed at solving a new “issue” can have unintended consequences in another area of plant…
Vogtle 3 and 4 construction continuation agreement through June 3
Late yesterday evening, Georgia Power announced that it and Westinghouse had come to an agreement – “in principle” – that would result in a transition of the Vogtle 3 & 4 project management…
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…
Smoking Gun Part 18 – An Oldie But a Goodie – Oil Heat Institute of Long Island Ad Using Scare Tactics to Fight Shoreham
One of the most famous battles against nuclear energy in the US, a struggle whose effects remain important to this day, was fought on Long Island. The saga involved nearly two decades of…
Smoking gun: LNG ship builders and their financial backers stoke nuclear fears
It’s been a while since my last ‘smoking gun’ report so it might be worth a brief reminder of what that categorization means. For Atomic Insights, the tag ‘smoking gun’ means a story…
Smoking Gun – Former Royal Dutch Shell Exec Proclaims End to Nuclear Power
On April 28, 2011, Roland Kupers, a former Royal Dutch Shell executive and current visiting fellow at Oxford University, published an opinion piece titled The end of nuclear power that exposed his dislike…
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.