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  • Atomic Show #352 – John Wagner, Director, Idaho National Laboratory

    Atomic Show #352 – John Wagner, Director, Idaho National Laboratory

    Rod AdamsByRod Adams
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    The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is in one of its busiest periods since the 1950s-late 1960s when it hosted the construction of 52 test, special purpose and demonstration nuclear reactors. Back when it was called the National Reactor Testing Station (1948-1974) it played a major role in today’s operating fleet of nuclear reactors, both commercial…

Atomic Insights Latest Posts

  • Atomic Show #351 – Tori Shivanandan, President and COO Radiant Nuclear
    Advanced Atomic Technologies · Atomic Abundance · Electric Grid · Gas Cooled Reactors · Graphite Moderated Reactors · Micro Reactors · New Nuclear · The Atomic Show Podcast

    Atomic Show #351 – Tori Shivanandan, President and COO Radiant Nuclear

    Radiant Nuclear is a dynamic company that has designed, built and transported a complete micro reactor that fits onto the back of a truck. That reactor, named the Kaleidos, will soon be fueled,…

  • Atomic Show #350 – Dr. Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Associate Laboratory Director, Energy & Environment Science & Technology, INL
    Clean Energy · Electric Grid · hydrogen · The Atomic Show Podcast

    Atomic Show #350 – Dr. Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Associate Laboratory Director, Energy & Environment Science & Technology, INL

    The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is best known for its nuclear engineering and pioneering reactor testing programs. Somewhat lesser known is the Lab’s cutting edge research in all other energy sources including wind,…

  • Potential next step after demonstrating a reactor under DOE authorization
    Atomic history

    Potential next step after demonstrating a reactor under DOE authorization

    The Reactor Pilot Program (RPP) has been a rousing success. The group of four reactor criticalities achieved during the early phases of the RPP mark a major step forward in the process of…

  • Atomic Show #349 – Josh Gillespie, COO National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC)
    Atomic Abundance · Innovation · The Atomic Show Podcast

    Atomic Show #349 – Josh Gillespie, COO National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC)

    Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was born in 1949 as the National Reactor Testing Station after the Atomic Energy Commission decided they needed a place to test controlled nuclear fission power systems. Before being…

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The Atomic Show Podcast

The Atomic Show Podcast includes interviews, roundtable discussions and atomic geeks all centered around the idea that nuclear energy is an amazing boon for human society.

  • Atomic Show #352 – John Wagner, Director, Idaho National Laboratory
    Business of atomic energy · Innovation · New Nuclear · The Atomic Show Podcast

    Atomic Show #352 – John Wagner, Director, Idaho National Laboratory

    The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is in one of its busiest periods since the 1950s-late 1960s when it hosted the construction of 52 test, special purpose and demonstration nuclear reactors. Back when it…

  • Atomic Show #351 – Tori Shivanandan, President and COO Radiant Nuclear
    Advanced Atomic Technologies · Atomic Abundance · Electric Grid · Gas Cooled Reactors · Graphite Moderated Reactors · Micro Reactors · New Nuclear · The Atomic Show Podcast

    Atomic Show #351 – Tori Shivanandan, President and COO Radiant Nuclear

    Radiant Nuclear is a dynamic company that has designed, built and transported a complete micro reactor that fits onto the back of a truck. That reactor, named the Kaleidos, will soon be fueled,…

  • Atomic Show #350 – Dr. Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Associate Laboratory Director, Energy & Environment Science & Technology, INL
    Clean Energy · Electric Grid · hydrogen · The Atomic Show Podcast

    Atomic Show #350 – Dr. Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Associate Laboratory Director, Energy & Environment Science & Technology, INL

    The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is best known for its nuclear engineering and pioneering reactor testing programs. Somewhat lesser known is the Lab’s cutting edge research in all other energy sources including wind,…

Small Module Reactors

SMR developments, politics, investments

  • Small is Beautiful, Even for Nuclear Fission Reactors

    E. F. Schumacher published a book titled Small is Beautiful in 1973 that has become one of the reference sources for ecologists and people interested in living on a human scale. In part,…

  • Atomic Show #186 – SMRs, Climate Change, and Natural Gas Competition

    On the evening of July 29, 2012, Suzy Hobbs-Baker, Director of the Nuclear Literacy Project and founder of PopAtomic Studios, Dan Yurman, who blogs at Idaho Samizdat and writes for Fuel Cycle Week…

  • NuScale announces achievement of unlimited coping time

    At the Nuclear Energy Insider SMR Conference in Columbia, S.C., Dr. Jose Reyes, a co-founder and the Chief Technology Officer of NuScale Power, announced that his team had achieved an impressive design breakthrough….

AP 1000 Saga

Why one of the most advanced new reactors has been challenged.

  • AP1000 saga · International nuclear · New Nuclear

    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…

  • AP1000 saga · Business of atomic energy · New Nuclear

    Toshiba Announces $6.3 B Writedown On A $229 M Construction Company Acquisition

    Toshiba’s chairman, Shigenori Shiga, has accepted the responsibility for his company’s financial challenges and operating losses and resigned his position as chairman and as a board member. He remains an executive with the…

  • Advanced Atomic Technologies · AP1000 saga · Business of atomic energy · New Nuclear · Pressurized Water

    Diseconomy of scale – world’s largest canned-motor reactor coolant pump

    On February 16, 2015, an AP article by Ray Henry titled Nuclear plants delayed in China, watched closely by US firms contained a short paragraph that has contributed to a number of sleepless…

The Smoking Gun Series

Stories of fossil fuel interests fighting nuclear

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Best Smoking Gun Ever – Former Senator Tim Wirth Giving Natural Gas Industry Legislative Pep Talk

    As a reminder, the words “smoking gun” in a blog title here at Atomic Insights means that the post will be about a direct attack on the use of nuclear fission by someone…

Investing in Nuclear

Nuclear investments – enabling the transition to a low-carbon economy

  • Parnassus Versus Green Century: A Contrast in Styles

    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?

    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.

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