Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

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Nuclear energy growth prospects and secure uranium supplies

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Uranium Panel: Discussing a Uranium Bull Market, New Nuclear and Sentiment for a Decarbonized Future

The 121 Mining Investment event held in Las Vegas on March 30 and 31 included a panel discussion with leaders from three uranium mining companies, each of which has an asset base of potentially lucrative mining prospects mostly located in North America. The fourth member of the panel was a managing partner at Nucleation Capital, a venture capital fund focusing on opportunities in the advanced nuclear sector, including suppliers of key system components front end to back end.

The panel included a lively chat about the prospects for new nuclear power plants, life extensions for existing power plants – including some that had previously announced closures, the implications of HALEU requirements for advanced reactors and the potential for micro and small reactors to supply power to mining operations that are often located in remote, off-grid locations.

The panel included following participants:

Rod Adams, Managing Partner, Nucleation Capital; Jon Bey, CEO, Standard Uranium; Ross McElroy, CEO, Fission Uranium; Andrew Ferrier, Managing Director, Okapi Resources

Background: The 121 Group hosts a series of events designed to help growing companies, especially those focusing on raw material supply, meet with investors that are interested in the growth potential for those companies and the sectors they serve. Those conferences are called 121 Mining Investment events.

Aside: 121 is pronounced 1 to 1, not one twenty one. A key feature of the events is the opportunity for companies to schedule face to face meetings with interested investors. The booth set-up for the event in Las Vegas was different from any that I have seen before. The three walls of each booth were inflatables with a continuously running blower. They reminded me of the system used for bounce houses at birthday parties for kids. Sound isolation was impressively effective. End Aside.

Atomic Show #296 – Julia Pyke, Director of Finance Sizewell C

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Julia Pyke, Director of Finance, Sizewell C

Sizewell C is a project to build a 3,200 MWe power station consisting of two EPR units on the site that currently hosts a single large pressurized water reactor (Sizewell B). With the exception of site-specific foundations and structures, the new power station will be a copy of the station currently under construction at Hinkley Point C.

Like Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C will be capable of supplying approximately 7% of the UK’s annual electricity requirement. It will be able to run at full power for 90% (or more) of the hours in the year.

By following Hinkley Point, Sizewell will be a much less risky project. Trades have been trained, construction kinks have been worked out, supply chains have been created, managers have gained experience, and designs have been completed and tested. As a result of this “derisking” (using the lingo of project managers) Sizewell C will be a more affordable endeavor that should begin saving customers money from the time it first begins operating.

But that expectation is unlikely to be fulfilled if the project has to be financed in the same way as Hinkley Point C, where the long construction duration and the inability to recover financing costs during construction has resulted in a situation where 70% or more of the total project cost is paid out in interest and return on investor risk capital.

On this episode of the Atomic Show, Julia Pyke, the Director of Finance for the Sizewell C project, explains how the regulated asset base (RAB) model will enable Sizewell C to be economically financed and built.

In the weeks since we recorded this episode of the Atomic Show, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the importance of making it possible for Sizewell C participants to reach a final investment decision. Approval of the RAB model will be a major step forward in moving this project towards completion.

It is a shovel-ready project that will help fill growing vulnerabilities in the UK’s energy supply. It’s not a quick fix, but it will be a durable one.

Please participate in the discussion here. I hope you enjoy the show.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:02 — 33.0MB)

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Atomic Show #294 – Mikal Boe, Core Power Founder and CEO

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Mikal Boe has spent 30 years in and around the commercial shipping industry. Several years ago, he began wondering how his industry was going to meet the increasingly stringent rules for air pollution and CO2 production that were being implemented by governing regulators, especially the International Maritime Organization (IMO). His extensive technical research led him […]

What makes smaller nuclear power systems so exciting?

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Let me start by dispelling the notion that I think smaller, modular, manufactured nuclear power systems – often called SMRs or micro reactors – are the be all and end all solution to anything, including climate change or energy security. Though not THE solution, they have the potential to be a crucial, uniquely capable part […]

China’s high temperature reactor – pebble bed modular (HTR-PM) achieves its first criticality

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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 for the people involved in the project; this one is a big deal for the future of nuclear energy. It might also […]

Atomic Show #291 – Kalev Kallemets, Fermi Energia

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Fermi Energia is an Estonian company whose mission is to provide its home country with an independent, clean, safe and affordable electricity production system by 2035. That system will be anchored by base supply from small modular nuclear reactors. It is a lofty mission for a small company in a country whose land mass and […]

Atomic Show #278 – Micro-Modular Reactor (MMR) project partners USNC, GFP and OPG

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Global First Power (GFP), Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC) and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) recently announced that they had formed a joint venture called Global First Power Limited Partnership. That venture will build, own and operate an installation called the Micro Modular Reactor (MMR™) at the Chalk River Laboratories site. Mark Mitchell and Eric MGoey […]

Atomic Show #275 – Managing advanced nuclear development during pandemic

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Managing any business is hard work, especially during a global pandemic with stay-at-home orders in place. It requires creativity and flexibility along with some amount of prior preparation. On May 11, 2020, I gathered a group of representatives from several start-up companies that are developing advanced nuclear technologies to talk about how they are making […]

Atomic Show #272 – Karnfull Energi

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Karnfull Energi is a young company that is successfully proving that nuclear energy is more popular than politicians believe. They have created the world’s first 100% nuclear energy offering. Customers have responded with their wallets, showing they are willing to pay a modest premium for higher quality electricity. People are shopping at Karfull’s online store. […]

Atomic Show #271 – Improving Nuclear Cost and Schedule Performance

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One of the most persistent arguments against the rapid deployment of nuclear energy is that projects are too expensive and take too long to complete. Based on the performance of the few nuclear plants that have begun construction in the West during this century, it’s hard to disagree. But there is solid evidence from projects […]

Investing in atomic fission to make world a better place

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An increasing number of major corporations and famous individual investors have announced plans to make their money work harder to address environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. These plans are not about philanthropic giving. The individuals and organizations believe that careful targeting of their money can produce both financial and social returns. By investing in […]

Atomic Show #265 – Atomic Optimism. Under-appreciated opportunities in sight.

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On Sunday, Feb 17, I realized that I was feeling extraordinarily good about the future of atomic energy, the future of clean energy production, and the future prosperity of the world that my grandchildren are going to inhabit. I immediately composed and sent an invitation to some atomic colleagues to join me in a conversation. […]

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