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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

New Nuclear

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

February 3, 2021 By Rod Adams 11 Comments

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 the impact envisioned by its pioneers.

We’ve had numerous discussions here about reasons for the slow progress. (See, for example, here, here and here.) I have long believed that the next generation of nuclear reactor designs can address many of the existing concerns about nuclear energy. Therefore, some of the longstanding obstacles to greater deployment can be overcome through the successful commercialization of next-gen designs.  In particular, I have blogged about the need to increase investment in the development of this next generation of nuclear technologies.

In early 2018, I was contacted by a reader to discuss ways to increase funding to advanced nuclear in response to a request I posted for anyone thinking about this to be in touch. In the course of several long conversations, I  learned that this reader, Valerie Gardner, a former hightech entrepreneur who had co-founded an investment firm back in 2002, was interested in developing a fund to invest in advanced nuclear and asked for my help. In keeping with my career-long strategy of finding ways to help others work more successfully – often motivated by my own desire to stay abreast of the latest trends – I agreed to assist.



Fast forward through almost three years and numerous stages of development, I am pleased to announce that I am joining forces with Valerie Gardner to become a managing partner at Nucleation Capital. Nucleation Capital will be investing in innovative companies enabling what we call the “carbon-managed economy” of the 21st century, with primary focus on advanced nuclear energy, advanced smart grids and deep decarbonization ventures.

By blending my expertise with hers and that of a few other extremely capable people, we expect to identify, fund and help great teams overcome barriers that limit their ability to bring clean energy products and services to market, foremost of which is access to capital.

Throughout our development process, we were advised by attorneys not to talk publicly about the fact that we were developing a fund due to certain SEC restrictions. Over the last two quarters, however, we have made some changes which shift our operating paradigm and we now can discuss the fund publicly, which is a welcome change, especially for me.  I look forward to sharing more about this fund and why and how that change happened: hint, it has to do with new technology. For the moment, I am leaving that for another post and/or podcast.

My purpose today is to alert you that there are some changes in the works both for me and Atomic Insights. I have invited Valerie to also join me in publishing related blog posts here. She has a wealth of experience in technology development, startups, financial management, investment and environmentalism. Some of you might already know her; she has been actively participating in climate, energy and investment-related groups and discussions for years. We are also moving forward with a long-delayed upgrade to the Atomic Insights website, with the goals of improving your ability to find and stay on top the material that is of interest to you.

You can be assured that we will keep writing about nuclear energy but we will also be looking at the kinds of newly commercializing “climate services” that nuclear will be ideally suited to power, including desalination, hydrogen production, and various types of carbon capture, utilization and sequestion (CCUS) activity. Of course, I will also be writing more about Nucleation Capital, the process of venture investing, the ways that venture capital differs from other components of the capital stack that support the deployment of clean energy, and our experience working to fulfill our vision to help “nucleate the carbon-managed economy.”

For those impatient to learn more about Nucleation Capital, please visit the website. One of the key ways that our fund differs from most other venture funds, is that we will be able to accept investments from accredited individuals at a fairly low level of capital commitment (i.e. in the tens of thousands, rather than in hundreds of thousands or millions). If you want to learn more about the fund as a potential investor, please use the link at the bottom of the Fund page on the Nucleation website.

I will be busier now but I promise to keep sharing my new experiences and what I learn through this process to continue to build on the base of accumulated knowledge which has been shared widely by readers.  As usual, I welcome your comments, questions and suggestions.

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Atomic Entrepreneurs, Clean Energy, Climate change, decarbonization, Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy, Investing, New Nuclear, Venture Capital

Atomic Show #289 – All Reactors Large and Small

January 29, 2021 By Rod Adams 16 Comments

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 of the world’s most focused experts on the topic of nuclear plant costs and the relationship of costs to sizes and deployment concepts.

Guests include:

  • Kirsty Gogan – co-founder of Energy for Humanity, Managing Director of Lucid Catalyst and Co-Founder of TERRAPRAXIS
  • Eric Ingersoll – co-founder of Lucid Catalyst and co-founder of Terrapraxis
  • Nick Touran – creator of WhatisNuclear.com and advanced reactor design engineer
  • Chris Keefer – President of Canadians for Nuclear, founder of Doctors for Nuclear Energy, host of the Decouple podcast and the We CANDU It Podcast
  • Jessica Lovering, co-founder and co-Executive Director of Good Energy Collective

We reached several conclusions.

  • Nuclear can be expensive but it doesn’t have to be expensive
  • Series building programs can successfully reduce construction and manufacturing costs
  • Series building programs that keep crews together on the same site for unit runs of 4, 8 or even more units have an established history of success.
  • Factory manufacturing is an intriguing prospect that might best be applied to nuclear plants by using shipyards for production and delivery.
  • Seismic isolation techniques can enable systems to be more location agnostic and limit the amount of redesign required for new locations.
  • There is room for innovation and new ideas in nuclear.
  • Smaller nuclear systems can make the technology more accessible and more widely acceptable.
  • Long held beliefs about nuclear in terms of risks, public acceptance, and needs for isolation and security deserve to be challenged.
  • Some believe that the more experience you have with nuclear, the better you will appreciate its benefits and capabilities.

Your comments and reactions are welcome and add value to this publication.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/AtomicShowFiles/atomic_20210128_289.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:17:14 — 88.8MB)

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Filed Under: Atomic politics, Economics, New Nuclear, Podcast

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

November 12, 2020 By Rod Adams 2 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Gas Cooled Reactors, Graphite Moderated Reactors, New Nuclear, Pebble Bed Reactors, Podcast, Small Nuclear Power Plants

Atomic Show #285 – MMR at Illinois

November 3, 2020 By Rod Adams 6 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Atomic education, New Nuclear, Podcast

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

June 21, 2020 By Rod Adams 14 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Atomic Entrepreneurs, Business of atomic energy, Gas Cooled Reactors, New Nuclear, Podcast, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

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 #268 – Jigar and Jake

March 22, 2020 By Rod Adams 3 Comments

Oklo Power recently announced that it had filed the first non-light water reactor combined license application ever submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Their 1.5 MWe fast spectrum, passively safe reactor represents a complete paradigm shift for nuclear energy. It’s not a big, slow to build, hugely expensive project requiring complex financing structures. It’s a […]

Filed Under: New Nuclear, Podcast, Politics of Nuclear Energy, Smaller reactors

Oklo has filed first combined license application (COLA) with the NRC since 2009

March 18, 2020 By Rod Adams 15 Comments

Oklo, Inc. announced yesterday that its combined license application (COLA) to build and operate an Aurora at INL was undergoing acceptance review at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Key project specifics Oklo’s Aurora is a 1.5 MWe liquid metal fast reactor with heat pipes to move fission heat out of the reactor core and into the […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Liquid Metal Cooled Reactors, New Nuclear, Smaller reactors

Fission can improve mental health by alleviating climate doomsday thinking

March 12, 2020 By Rod Adams 12 Comments

White heron taking wing

There are countless stressed people who have been convinced that we are facing an existential crisis as a result of global heating driven by increased concentrations of carbon dioxide. In contrast, I get more excited and enthusiastic with every passing day. And, no, I do not take drugs or live a cloistered life. I’m deeply […]

Filed Under: Climate change, New Nuclear

The Fearless Green Deal

October 22, 2019 By Guest Author 66 Comments

By Robert Hargraves Democratic president Franklin D Roosevelt proclaimed at his 1933 inauguration, “…the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”  In years past Republican presidents were conservative stewards of the environment. Theodore Roosevelt started National Parks. Nixon created the […]

Filed Under: Clean Energy, Climate change, New Nuclear

Are we finally approaching lift-off for a real Renaissance?

February 9, 2019 By Rod Adams 61 Comments

Obituaries of the “Nuclear Renaissance” have been widespread and frequent in the years since the Great Recession and reactions to the Great Northeast Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami. I’m pretty sure those obits have been premature in declaring the subject to be dead. Last week, I attended the 6th Annual Advanced Reactor Summit and Technology Showcase. […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, 6th AR Summit, New Nuclear

Fission heated gas turbines address MIT Future of Nuclear challenges. Easier, straighter, less costly path

September 20, 2018 By Rod Adams 57 Comments

Addressing Recommendations of MIT Future of Nuclear Energy In a Carbon Constrained World The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a world renowned institution that has produced thousands of highly educated engineers and scientists. It is generously supported by foundations, corporations and governments. In 2003, the MIT Energy Initiative, began publishing a series of reports […]

Filed Under: Advanced Atomic Technologies, Gas Cooled Reactors, Graphite Moderated Reactors, New Nuclear, Pebble Bed Reactors, Small Nuclear Power Plants, Smaller reactors

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

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