Atomic Show #304 – Len Rodberg, Nuclear New York
Dr. Leonard Rodberg spent most of his adult life being opposed to nuclear energy. A half a dozen years ago, he abruptly changed his mind. Ever since, he has been a strong and vocal advocate for the increased use of nuclear energy. On Atomic Show #304 Len and I discuss his education, career, his changing…
Atomic Insights Latest Posts
IRA’s Clean Electricity Tax Credits (Sections 48E and 45Y) are an under-appreciated boon for new nuclear power
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) should make an important contribution towards mitigating future inflationary periods. It accomplishes this beneficial goal by providing important support for facilities that increase US clean electricity production. The…
Oil and gas opposition to consolidated interim spent fuel (CISF) storage facilities in Permian Basin
An article titled “US sweetens pot to study siting for spent nuke fuel storage” was published in the January 26, 2023 edition of the Washington Post. The article included a paragraph that credited…
Atomic Energy Wells
Petroleum – a term includes oil, gas and derivatives – wells have been going dry for more than 150 years. Until the late 2000s, the solution to that problem of resource depletion has…
Enough with “renewables!”
The American Nuclear Society posted an article entitled How a nuclear victory at COP27 started with a teen and a text reporting on the wonderful story of Ia Aanstoot. This is the 17-year…
Atomic Show #304 – Len Rodberg, Nuclear New York
Dr. Leonard Rodberg spent most of his adult life being opposed to nuclear energy. A half a dozen years ago, he abruptly changed his mind. Ever since, he has been a strong and…
Atomic Show #303 – Bret Kugelmass, CEO Last Energy
Last Energy is an innovative new company governed by a philosophy of avoiding the invention of anything that has not been done before. They have created a business that is laser focused on…
Atomic Show #302 – Dr. Sama Bilbao y Leon, Director General, World Nuclear Association
Dr. Sama Bilbao y Leon, the Director General of the World Nuclear Association, visited the Atomic Show to provide an international perspective on the revival in interest in nuclear energy deployment. As the…
Letter from the Editor: Small Is Beautiful
At the request of several readers, we have decided to dedicate this issue to discussing the Adams Engine concept. Rather than talking about technical details, however, we have decided to talk about general…
History Made as NuScale Files First SMR Application With U.S. Nuke Regulators
Two years ago, NuScale committed to filing a license application for its eponymous SMR design with U.S. regulators by the end of 2016. Just three months before two company executives used a custom…
If Utilities Are Not Large Enough To Finance Nuclear Power, Consider Smaller Nuclear Plants
On numerous occasions, I have heard speeches or read commentary by leaders in the US electric utility industry that have made the case that utilities need to partner or merge in order to…
Is the NRC the “gold standard” of nuclear regulation or the “DMV standard”?
On October 13, 2011 the Reuters news service published an article titled NRC delays reactor certification to study Japan damage that led with the following paragraph. WILMINGTON, N.C., Oct 13 (Reuters) – U.S….
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…
GA Power announces a decision deferral until May 12
Last night, GA Power issued a terse press release stating that it will continue working on the detailed project assessment needed before it can decide whether or not to continue trying to complete…
Smoking Gun Part 3 (Direct anti-nuclear comment from an Australian coal industry supporter)
I came across an informative article in the Time South Pacific edition (on-line of course) titled Plugging in to Nuclear. The teaser summary of the article was enough to grab my attention As…
Following the money: who’s funding Stanford’s Natural Gas Initative
A few days ago, I wrote about Stanford University’s new Natural Gas Initiative (NGI) and described why I thought the existence of that program helped to explain why some prominent Stanford professors —…
Smoking Gun research continuing in earnest
In 1993, after I had made a decision to resign my active duty commission and design a small atomic engine, a colleague warned me that “the oil companies will never let you succeed.”…
Nuclear Venture Capital
Nuclear Venture Capital
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…
Nucleating our carbon-managed future
If you’ve studied chemistry, you’ll know that the nucleation point describes the start of a change in physical state, such as from a solid to a liquid, or liquid to gas. Water starting to crystallize into ice nucleates where the first H2O molecules reorganize as a solid. We’re seeing a similar transformation of human society—forced…
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.