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Atomic Insights

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

International nuclear

Atomic Show #303 – Bret Kugelmass, CEO Last Energy

December 9, 2022 By Rod Adams 7 Comments

Rendering of Last Energy’s 20 MWe installations (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 building, owning and operating small (20 MWe), modular pressurized water reactors and selling the electricity they produce under long term power purchase agreements.

On Atomic Show #303, Bret Kugelmass, the founder, president and CEO of Last Energy describes the path he took from earning a masters degree in robotics at Stanford, through the founding and operation of a successful drone company, to a highly respected podcast, through a non profit think tank and into a utility company that has designed a nuclear power plant that can begin operating as early as 2025 with commercial scale repetition starting almost immediately.

Where some believe that nuclear fission requires highly specialized equipment, Last Energy has found that pressure vessels, pumps, piping, heat exchangers and valves of similarly high quality standards are widely available from experienced, commercial suppliers. Their systems, structures and components (SSC) use well-accepted ASME codes and standards and are often identical to the SSC that have been used for decades in chemical processing, oil and gas, and other industrial applications.

Last Energy has chosen a small number of initial deployment locations, specifically in the UK, Romania and Poland. They are aiming to supply power to major industrial consumers that need somewhere between 20 and 100 MWe. They will connect to their customers “behind the meter”. From the customer point of view, Last Energy power will look and act like the electricity they currently purchase from their local utility company.

Last Energy systems will have approximately 2 m diameter pressure vessels that can accommodate full length fuel assemblies and standard control rods with proven drive mechanisms mounted on the reactor head. There will be fewer assemblies in the core, and they will be replaced as a whole unit every 6 years. Each plant will have a single steam generator and coolant pump.

Kugelmass explains the reasons behind the company philosophy and design choices. He provides a good summary of their business model and their driving motivations.

One aspect of Last Energy’s plans should motivate US politicians to modify our current export control regime. Even though their plants are designed to be well within the production capability of US manufacturers, the company is studiously avoiding the production of any nuclear component in the US. Export control processes are too burdensome to be economically justifiable.

I hope you enjoy the show and participate in the conversation.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/AtomicShowFiles/atomic_20221208_303.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:06 — 32.1MB)

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Filed Under: International nuclear, New Nuclear, Podcast, Pressurized Water, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

Atomic Show #302 – Dr. Sama Bilbao y Leon, Director General, World Nuclear Association

December 2, 2022 By Rod Adams 5 Comments

Dr. Sama Bilbao y Leon, the Director General of the 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 head of the organization that represents the global nuclear industry, provides education about all matters related to using nuclear technologies, and lobbies for recognition of the value that nuclear energy provides, she is uniquely able to describe what the world is thinking about building and operating a wide variety of nuclear energy generating systems.

Dr. Bilbao y Leon shared valuable messages from her conversations with world leaders during the recent Conference of the Parties in Egypt (COP27) .

“A very important dimension of decarbonization tends to be forgotten. When we are looking at the global north as in developed countries obviously we are focused on decarbonization, reducing emissions, energy efficiency, being more cost effective and more effective in how we use the energy that we do have.That is the transition that we are looking towards – cleaner energy. But when we are looking to the global south, their energy transition goes from no energy to energy.”

“You have a lot of countries saying, ok people. Yes, we want to decarbonize, yes we want to use our resources as effectively as possible, but we also – and foremost – want to achieve the standard of living that you guys are already enjoying.”

“More and more countries, particularly in the global south, are realizing that nuclear is truly – or could be potentially – a game changer when it comes to providing abundant, clean, affordable 24 x 7 energy – not electricity, energy – for everybody.” Dr. Sama Bilbao y Leon, the Director General of the World Nuclear Association

We talked about the utility of small modular reactors (SMR) in bringing nuclear energy benefits to a broader selection of energy consumers – a term that includes all of us.

Aside: Our conversation took a personal side trip to a time when Sama Bilbao y Leon, then a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, was intrigued by a “crazy” talk describing the benefits of nuclear systems small enough to be called atomic engines. End Aside.

We talked about the process that countries undertake when they choose to develop the capability to own and operate nuclear power plants. We speculated on nuclear energy’s potential to provide the kind of “leapfrog” advance demonstrated by mobile phone technology.

We also talked about ways to respond to inaccurate arguments claiming that there are no small modular reactors operating or that they are untested and unproven technologies.

Dr. Sama Bilbao y Leon brings a diverse resume to her job. She started her professional career as a nuclear safety engineer with Dominion, a major utility with a large nuclear plant operating arm, became an associate professor of nuclear engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University – where she played a leading role in establishing a new nuclear engineering degree program – and served in a variety of leadership positions at international organizations like the IAEA and the NEA.

She holds a PhD and master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison,, a master’s (Energy Technologies) and bachelor’s (Mechanical Engineering) degrees from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.

I hope you enjoyed the show. Please participate in a conversation about the topics discussed. It would also be helpful and appreciated if you could take the time to provide a review of the Atomic Show on your podcast app of choice.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/AtomicShowFiles/atomic_20221130_302.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:16 — 45.3MB)

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Filed Under: International nuclear, New Nuclear, Podcast, Politics of Nuclear Energy

How Hot is Cold Fusion?

August 12, 2022 By Valerie Gardner 51 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Alternative energy, Atomic Pioneers, Clean Energy, Climate change, Cold Fusion, Conferences, ICCF24, Innovation, International nuclear, Investing, Low Energy Nuclear Reactors, New Nuclear, Smaller reactors, Solid-State Energy, Venture Capital Tagged With: Anthropocene Institute, Carly Anderson, cold fusion, Florian Metzler, ICCF, ICCF24, LENR, low energy nuclear reactions, Matt Trevithick, multi-body interactions, Nucleation Capital, solid-state fusion energy

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

March 12, 2022 By Rod Adams 41 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Business of atomic energy, International nuclear, Investing, New Nuclear, Podcast Tagged With: Atomic Show, clean energy policy, finance, Julia Pyke, nuclear finance, Sizewell C, United Kingdom

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

January 5, 2022 By Rod Adams 31 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Atomic ships, Business of atomic energy, International nuclear, Molten salt cooled, Nuclear Ships, Nuclear workforce, Podcast

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

September 14, 2021 By Rod Adams 34 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Atomic history, Business of atomic energy, Gas Cooled Reactors, Graphite Moderated Reactors, International nuclear, New Nuclear, Pebble Bed Reactors, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

Atomic Show #291 – Kalev Kallemets, Fermi Energia

February 24, 2021 By Rod Adams 3 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Business of atomic energy, International nuclear, Podcast, Politics of Nuclear Energy

Atomic Show #290 – Myrto Tripathi, Voices of Nuclear

February 9, 2021 By Rod Adams

Nuclear energy professionals are credible sources of information about a powerful technology that can help address climate change and contribute to humanity’s development. Voices of Nuclear is an international non-profit group that seeks to empower nuclear supporters, both professionals in the industry and allies outside of the industry, with tools, organization and effective messages. Myrto […]

Filed Under: Atomic politics, International nuclear, Podcast, Politics of Nuclear Energy

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

June 21, 2020 By Rod Adams Leave a Comment

Atomic Show #278 transcript, lightly edited for clarity. Intro music (00:15): Rod Adams (00:21):This is Rod Adams and it’s time for Atomic Show show number 278. Yes, these Atomic Shows are coming almost regularly these days. I guess it helps to have not only myself, but all of my guests, working from home. Today I […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Atomic Show Transcript, Gas Cooled Reactors, International nuclear, New Nuclear, Small Nuclear Power Plants

Atomic Show #274 – Thomas Jam Pedersen, Copenhagen Atomics

April 30, 2020 By Rod Adams 1 Comment

Copenhagen isn’t the first city name that comes to mind as the place to start a nuclear company. Denmark has decommissioned its last research reactor and has never had a nuclear power plant. That hasn’t deterred Thomas Jam Pedersen and his colleagues at Copenhagen Atomics. Starting a decade or more ago, they began learning about […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, International nuclear, Podcast

What exploded in Russia on Aug 8? My estimate is a (chemical) booster rocket for a nuclear powered cruise missile.

August 23, 2019 By Rod Adams 37 Comments

A cruise missile with a nuclear reactor heated turbofan engine and a liquid fueled booster rocket is the most likely description of the Russian developmental weapons system that exploded while being tested on August 8. It’s likely that the explosion occurred during maintenance or fueling operations on a barge floating off shore and not during […]

Filed Under: Gas Cooled Reactors, International nuclear, Nuclear Aircraft, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

Nuclear plant output in China poised for rapid increases in 2018-2020

July 7, 2018 By Rod Adams 7 Comments

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 connected to the grid at 5:59 pm local time on June 29, 2018. Less than 24 hours later, at 4:48 pm local […]

Filed Under: AP1000 saga, International nuclear, New Nuclear

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Atomic Show #303 – Bret Kugelmass, CEO Last Energy

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