Atomic Insights

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

New Nuclear

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.

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The Assay TV speaks with Rod Adams, Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital and Atomic Insights host

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The Assay is a media project of the 121 Group, based in Hong Kong, that serves investors, fund managers and analysts who are involved with and/or investing in a wide range of mining ventures. As part of their efforts to bring a greater understanding of the complex markets that control the prospects of mining ventures, […]

Catching Oklo — a rising star!

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Update: On Jan 6, 2022, the NRC denied Oklo’s COA application “without prejudice.” Power published an article titled NRC Dismisses Application for Oklo Advanced Nuclear Reactor that provides a solid early summary of the action and its implications. A new generation of clean energy is on the horizon Oklo is a clean energy company that […]

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 […]

A Path from Coal to Nuclear is Being Blazed in Wyoming

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Many of those who care about finding solutions to the physical distress that our climate is experiencing, as reported on this week in a landmark 1,300 page report by the IPCC‘s Sixth Assessment Working Group 1 (Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis), are not looking at Wyoming. But based upon the announcement made in […]

Nucleating our carbon-managed future

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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 […]

Change is in the wind: Commencing a new phase as a Venture Capitalist

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Atomic energy is a tool that is capable of helping address some of humanity’s most wicked challenges. Clean, abundant, reliable and affordable power makes everything we do a little easier and is becoming increasing urgent in the era of climate change. Unfortunately, atomic energy is a long way from reaching its potential or even achieving […]

Atomic Show #289 – All Reactors Large and Small

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Pro-nuclear advocates generally agree that there is a large and growing need for new nuclear power plants to meet energy demands with less impact on the planet and its atmosphere. There is frequent, sometimes passionate discussion about the most appropriate reactor sizes, technologies and specific uses. Atomic Show #289 is a lively discussion among some […]

Atomic Show #287 – Darren Gale, VP Commercial Operations, X-Energy talks about Xe-100

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X-Energy is the lead recipient for one of two industry groups selected to receive $80 M in Department of Energy (DOE) funding as part of a public-private partnership program to demonstrate advanced nuclear power plants on an aggressive time table. Its primary partner in the endeavor is Energy Northwest, which currently owns and operates the […]

Atomic Show #285 – MMR at Illinois

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The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a stretch goal of completing its next research and test reactor by the end of 2025. It has assembled a team that includes several other major universities, national labs, and industrial partners. It has selected the MMRTM, a product that is being developed by USNC (Ultra Safe Nuclear […]

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