As you may know, my drive for solving climate change led me to meet with hundreds of nuclear energy experts - 865 across 10 countries just last year, to be exact.
This has been an incredible process - creating new advocates, technology deep dives, understanding costs drivers.
I want to share everything I've been learning so I've published 150 of these conversations - https://www.titansofnuclear. com/.
I'll try to shoot out an email once or twice a month so you can follow along, or leave you alone if you unsubscribe below.
Links and notes below are for your reference in case I don't keep up with updates.
-Bret
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Ep: 01 || Michael Shellenberger, Founder, Environmental Progress || Sway the public's position on nuclear energy.
Ep: 02 || Per Peterson, Chief of Nuclear, Kairos Power || Civil nuclear energy from the perspective of non-proliferation.
Ep: 03 || Todd Allen, Professor, University of Wisconsin || Our national lab system plays in the efforts to revitalize nuclear innovation.
Ep: 04 || Eric Loewen, Chief Engineer, GE PRISM || The PRISM project and technology behind fast reactors.
Ep: 05 || Rachel Slaybaugh, Program Director, ARPA-E || Genesis of the world’s first nuclear startup accelerator.
Ep: 06 || John Wagner, Nuclear Science and Tech Director, Idaho National Lab || Basics of spent fuel management.
Ep: 07 || Hans Gouger, Advanced Reactors Director, Idaho National Lab || Commercialize new nuclear technologies.
Ep: 08 || Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Space Nuclear Systems, Idaho National Lab || Hydrogen and how it can be integrated in a nuclear system.
Ep: 09 || George Griffith, Small Modular Reactors, Idaho National Lab || Small modular reactors in the future of the nuclear power industry.
Ep: 10 || Emma Redfoot, Fellow, Idaho National Lab || What happens holistically when we make energy cheaper.
Ep: 11 || Jessica Lovering, Director of Energy, Breakthrough Institute || Cost of building reactors and need to approach building differently.
Ep: 12 || Jeff Harper, Director of Business Dev, X-Energy || Advantages of the Pebble Bed technology.
Ep: 13 || John Kotek, Senior Vice President of Policy, NEI || Different mechanisms the government can use to support the industry.
Ep: 14 || Mark Peters, Director, Idaho National Lab || Importance of competition to drive science forward.
Ep: 15 || Rich Powell, Executive Director, Clearpath || Leveling the playing field for zero emissions standards.
Ep: 16 || Don Wolf, Chief Executive Officer, ARC || Pros and cons of metallic uranium fuel vs uranium oxide.
Ep: 17 || Rita Baranwal, Director, GAIN || Building a domestic fast test reactor and "game-changing" nuclear technologies.
Ep: 18 || Josh Freed, Director of Energy, Thirdway || Develop a consensus around technology, market, and research needs.
Ep: 19 || Amy Roma, Lawyer, Hogan Lovells || "Gold Standard Provision" enrichment and reprocessing access.
Ep: 20 || Jim Conca, Writer, Forbes || Future of China and the US's nuclear industries.
Ep: 21 || Bill Stokes, President, Columbia Basin Consulting || The constructability and design of advanced nuclear power plants.
Ep: 22 || Ed McGinnis, Assistant Secretary of Energy, DOE || Dirty Bomb Threat Reduction and Global Threat Reduction Initiative.
Ep: 23 || Steve Unwin, Nuclear Sector Manager, PNNL || Viability, benefits, and challenges of extracting uranium from seawater.
Ep: 24 || Tara O'Niel, Environmental Assessment, PNNL || The National Environmental Policy Act and mitigating environmental impact.
Ep: 25 || Brady Hanson, Used Fuel Expert, PNNL || Process and consequences of oxidizing spent fuel.
Ep: 26 || Ron Omberg, Fast Reactor Expert, PNNL || Plutonium-recycle test reactors and challenges.
Ep: 27 || Peter Lyons, Fmr. Commissioner, NRC || The relationship between nuclear energy and nonproliferation.
Ep: 28 || Spencer Weart, Author, The Rise of Nuclear Fear || Intersection of nuclear fear and politics.
Ep: 29 || Jose Reyes, Chief Technical Officer, Nuscale || The Multi-Application Small Light Water Reactor.
Ep: 30 || Tom Bergman, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Nuscale || Risk-informed categorization Rule 50.69.
Ep: 31 || Tom Mundy, Chief Commercial Officer, Nuscale || How to make nuclear power plants commercially attractive.
Ep: 32 || John Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer, Nuscale || Importance of having a sustainable supply chain.
Ep: 33 || Lenka Kollar, Director of Business Strategy, Nuscale || Crucial to humanize nuclear technology.
Ep: 34 || Chad Painter, Technical Advisor - Convert Program, NNSA || Weapons-grade plutonium and the social impacts of Three Mile Island.
Ep: 35 || Kenneth Canavan, Chief Technical Officer, Westinghouse || Best strategies to control fission products after severe accidents.
Ep: 36 || John Stevens, Reactor Materials, Argonne National Lab || How radiocarbon dating actually works.
Ep: 37 || Chris Grandy, Nuclear Experimental Facilities, Argonne National Lab || Differences between a sodium system and a light water system.
Ep: 38 || Hussein Khalil, Nuclear Energy R&D, Argonne National Lab || Challenge of bringing new technologies to the market.
Ep: 39 || Tom Fanning, Advanced Reactor Modeling, Argonne National Lab || Economic modeling and the future of sodium technology.
Ep: 40 || Amanda Youker, Isotope Production, Argonne National Lab || Domestically producing molybdenum 99 from a security perspective.
Ep: 41 || Ken Luongo, President, Partnership for Global Security || Theory of arms control has shifted.
Ep: 42 || Laura Holgate, Former Ambassador, IAEA || Reduce the nuclear weapons risk.
Ep: 43 || Paul Murphy, Managing Director / Lawyer, Gowling WLG || Competition in the market.
Ep: 44 || Yves Desbazeille, Director General, Foratom || Nuclear investment profitability.
Ep: 45 || Steven Goldfarb, Atlas Experiment (Large Hadron Collider), CERN || Particle collisions and an explanation of their interactions.
Ep: 46 || Giovanni Porcellana, Technology Transfer, CERN || Medical imaging and high energy physics
Ep: 47 || Michael Doser, Aegis Experiment (Antimatter), CERN || Antiprotons and antimatter.
Ep: 48 || Toni Hemminki, Chief Executive Officer, Fennovoima || Impact of nuclear energy on climate change versus other forms of energy.
Ep: 49 || Atte Harjanne, Green Politician, Helsinki || A Finnish perspective on using research and politics to address climate change.
Ep: 50 || Ville Tulkki, Senior Researcher , VTT || Fuel Behavior Analysis.
Ep: 51 || Rauli Partanen, Author / Activist, Finland || Public messages surrounding nuclear in the last 40 years.
Ep: 52 || Wade Karlsen, Laboratory Manager, VTT || Material science and its vital role in the nuclear space.
Ep: 53 || Mathijs Beckers, Author, Climate Zero Hour || Flawed assumptions surrounding the stability of natural resources and renewables.
Ep: 54 || Troels Schönfeldt, Chief Executive Officer, Seaborg || How molten salt reactors can increase nuclear sustainability.
Ep: 55 || Geoffrey Rothwell, Author / Economist, Economics of Nuclear Power || Negative bidding, fluctuating uranium costs, and economics.
Ep: 56 || Luc Van Den Durpel, Managing Director, Nuclear-21 || Pros and cons of different ways to handle spent fuel.
Ep: 57 || Fiona Rayment, Director, UK National Nuclear Laboratory || Boron Neutron Capture Therapy and treating cancerous tumors.
Ep: 58 || Valerie Faudon, Executive Director, French Nuclear Society || The French Nuclear Society model for working with government.
Ep: 59 || Bernard Bigot, Director-General, ITER || Research surrounding nuclear fusion and plasma physics.
Ep: 60 || Malcolm Grimston, Professor / Author, Imperial College of London || Nuclear going wrong is better than coal going right.
Ep: 61 || David Shropshire, Section Head: Planning & Economic Studies, IAEA || The economics of a closed versus open fuel cycle.
Ep: 62 || Milko Kovachev, Section Head: Nuclear Infrastructure Development, IAEA || Design deficiencies addressed after Chernobyl.
Ep: 63 || Bill Magwood, Director‑General, Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD) || Nuclear Innovation 2050 initiative.
Ep: 64 || Andrew Storer, Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Center || Significantly improve employment rates.
Ep: 65 || Jay Shaw, Program Director, Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Center || Electron beam welding.
Ep: 66 || Charles Carpenter, Senior Technology Officer, Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Center || Two-phase heat transfer.
Ep: 67 || Kirsty Gogan, Environmental Activist, Energy for Humanity || Renewables aren't good enough alone as a sustainable energy option.
Ep: 68 || Dame Sue Ion, Fmr. Technical Director, British Nuclear Fuels || Economics and life cycles of waste and decommissioning.
Ep: 69 || Alastair Laird, President, European Nuclear Society || Navigating politics and advocating for nuclear energy in Europe.
Ep: 70 || Ian Scott, Co-Founder, CTO, Moltex Energy || Pros and cons of different nuclear regulators.
Ep: 71 || Paul Howarth, Chief Executive Officer, UK National Nuclear Laboratory || Government and contractor-operated national lab model.
Ep: 72 || David Blee, President, US Nuclear Industry Council || Advanced technology and supply chain.
Ep: 73 || Kemal Pasamehmetoglu, Director of Versatile Test Reactor, Idaho National Labs || Relationship of US government and nuclear industry.
Ep: 74 || Richard Barrett, Fmr. Senior Executive, NRC || Ways the NRC interacts with new technology developers, including the AP600.
Ep: 75 || Gene Grecheck, Fmr. Senior Vice President, Dominion Energy || Environmental benefits and why the market doesn't recognize them.
Ep: 76 || Eric Ingersoll, Co-founder, Energy Options Network || Help bring carbon-free electricity to the entire world.
Ep: 77 || Neil Wilmshurst, Chief Nuclear Officer, EPRI || How EPRI works and its research projects.
Ep: 78 || Dan Wells, Water Chemistry Expert, EPRI || Where nuclear plants source water and the purification processes involved.
Ep: 79 || Rob Austin, Sensors, Data & Analytics Expert, EPRI || How digital services and automations can improve the nuclear industry.
Ep: 80 || Dave Gandy, Advanced Manufacturing Expert, EPRI || Manufacturing's vital role in increasing nuclear’s scalability.
Ep: 81 || Andrew Sowder, Advanced Nuclear Technology , EPRI || EPRI’s recent study on factors that control nuclear destiny.
Ep: 82 || Al Csontos, Advanced Fuels Expert, EPRI || Pitting and dry cask storage.
Ep: 83 || Tina Taylor, Deputy Chief Nuclear Officer, EPRI || Different reactor types and their chemical components.
Ep: 84 || Amy Harder, Reporter, Axios || Deciphering the pendulum swing of US energy regulations.
Ep: 85 || Anurag Gupta, Partner, Global Lead for Power - Infrastructure, KPMG || How nuclear plants benefit Canada and its employment rate.
Ep: 86 || Milton Caplan, Consultant, MZConsulting || History of Canada’s nuclear industry.
Ep: 87 || Margaret Harding, Consultant, 4Factor Consulting || Variance of nuclear designs across the world.
Ep: 88 || Andrew Daniels, Author, After Fukushima || Chernobyl and Fukushima's social, environmental, and physical impacts on nuclear energy.
Ep: 89 || Jeff Merrifield, Former Commissioner, NRC || Benefits of competition within the global nuclear industry.
Ep: 90 || Bob Coward, Principal Officer, MPR Associates || Power plants across the US and its critical role in US nuclear.
Ep: 91 || Paul Gunter, Director, Reactor Oversight Project, Beyond Nuclear || Connection between uranium enrichment and weapons.
Ep: 92 || Umair Irfan, Reporter, Vox || Navigating bias and vested interests.
Ep: 93 || Joyce Connery, Commissioner, NDSB || Kazakhstan's shutdown of the BN-350 fast breeder reactor
Ep: 94 || Ron Faibish, Director of Business Development, General Atomic || Desalination process and nuclear power plants.
Ep: 95 || Kam Ghaffarian, Founder, CEO, X-Energy || High-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor and fuel designs.
Ep: 96 || Bob Freeman, SVP Nuclear Fuel Commercial Operations, Framatome (US) || How switching out fuel type reduces enrichment.
Ep: 97 || Craig Ranson, Senior VP, Installed Base America, Framatome (US) || Production, refueling, and mechanical maintenance cycle.
Ep: 98 || Curtis Van Cleve, VP, Components, Repair and Replacement, Framatome (US) || From need-based to predictive maintenance.
Ep: 99 || Gary Mignogna, CEO & President, Framatome (US) || Fuel technology, maintenance tools, and new reactor technology.
Ep: 100 || Bret Kugelmass, Managing Director / Host, Energy Impact Center / Titans of Nuclear || Behind the scenes look at Titans of Nuclear.
Ep: 101 || Mark Flaherty, Site Vice President, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant || Most common challenges that occur in everyday plant operations.
Ep: 102 || Kevin Dougherty, Operations Shift Manager, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant || Operational rigor of the nuclear industry.
Ep: 103 || Nicholas Cahill, Reactor Engineer, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant || Variables and strategies for planning where fuel is deployed.
Ep: 104 || Trace Heffner, Reactor Engineer, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant || Planning and simulating for power maneuvers.
Ep: 105 || Dean Divittore, Radiation Protection Manager, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant || Basics of radiation, including Geiger counters.
Ep: 106 || Larry Smith, Manager, Regulatory Assurance, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant || Quality assurance within a nuclear plant.
Ep: 107 || Alan Icenhour, Associate Laboratory Director, Oak Ridge National Labs || Evolution of radioactive waste disposal.
Ep: 108 || Phil Ferguson, Director of Fusion and Materials for Nuclear Systems, Oak Ridge National Labs || Deep dive into spallation.
Ep: 109 || Kurt Terrani, Nuclear Fuel Materials, Oak Ridge National Labs || How to effectively push for new materials in the nuclear industry.
Ep: 110 || Lou Qualls, Molten Salt Reactors, Technical Director, Oak Ridge National Labs || Rising interest in molten salt reactors.
Ep: 111 || David Kropaczek, Consortium for Advanced Simulation of LWRs, Oak Ridge National Labs || Inherent safety of light water reactors.
Ep: 112 || Thomas Graham, Fmr. Ambassador, US Arms Control and Disarmament || How nuclear energy helped halt spread of nuclear weapons.
Ep: 113 || Seth Grae, Chief Executive Officer, LightBridge || Safeguard against the weaponization of nuclear fuel byproducts.
Ep: 114 || Jarret Adams, Founder, Full On Communications || How writing about nuclear has evolved over the last few decades.
Ep: 115 || Ed Pheil, Chief Technology Officer, Elysium || Overcoming supply chain challenges.
Ep: 116 || Janice Dunn Lee, Former Deputy Director General, IAEA || Intricacies of international nuclear agreements.
Ep: 117 || Kathryn McCarthy, VP, R&D, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories || Comparison of Canada versus US regulation timelines.
Ep: 118 || Corey McDaniel, VP, Business Development, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories || Work surrounding LWRs and sustainability.
Ep: 119 || Metin Yetisir, Concept and Technology Development, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories || Breakdown of supercritical water.
Ep: 120 || Rosaura Ham-Su, Fuel Development, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories || Importance of ceramics processing for creating nuclear fuel.
Ep: 121 || Mark Lesinski, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories || Nuclear plant life cycle: build, repair and decommissioning.
Ep: 122 || Jacopo Buongiorno, Associate Head, Nuclear Science, MIT || Building a new plant and how to reduce construction costs.
Ep: 123 || Dennis Whyte, Head of Nuclear Department, MIT || How fusion works and efforts to make it economically viable.
Ep: 124 || Bob Mumgaard, Chief Executive Officer, Commonwealth Fusion || Superconductors, their applications, and productization
Ep: 125 || Mark Lewis, President, Chief Business Officer, Tri-Alpha Energy || Microgrids, grid resiliency, and lower carbon energy.
Ep: 126 || Stephen Burns, Commissioner, NRC || How the Nuclear Regulatory Commission learns from key events in the nuclear field.
Ep: 127 || Philip Sharp, Fmr. Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives || Congressional nuclear energy policy through the years.
Ep: 128 || Susan Eisenhower, CEO, The Eisenhower Group || Multidisciplinary strategy for IR, nuclear energy, and climate change.
Ep: 129 || Rex Geveden, CEO, BWX Technologies || Nuclear innovations and manufacturing in the energy and defense markets.
Ep: 130 || Eddie Guerra, Senior Structural Engineer, Arup || A discussion on the US' role in nuclear energy implementation in Puerto Rico.
Ep: 131 || Joshua Goldstein, Author, A Bright Future || Nuclear energy advocacy as the backbone for solving climate change.
Ep: 132 || Steven Freel, CEO, Studsvik Scandpower || Studsvik Scandpower’s fuel management technology.
Ep: 133 || James Duderstadt, President Emeritus, University of Michigan || How UM and artificial intelligence are changing the nuclear field.
Ep: 134 || Alec Thomas, Associate Professor, University of Michigan || The future of laser plasma accelerators.
Ep: 135 || Sara Pozzi, Professor, University of Michigan || A discussion on important nuclear safeguard technologies and nonproliferation.
Ep: 136 || Zhong He, Professor, University of Michigan || High precision gamma ray detectors are making nuclear safer and easier.
Ep: 137 || John Barrett, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Nuclear Association || Canada's current and future state of nuclear energy.
Ep: 138 || Colleen DeMerchant, General Manager, Nuclear Insurance Association of Canada || Fukushima, safety, nuclear insurance pools.
Ep: 139 || Matthew Mairinger, Canadian Affairs Chair, North American Young Generation in Nuclear || Empowering the next generation.
Ep: 140 || Howard Shearer, CEO, Hitachi Canada || Corporate responsibilities and social impacts of nuclear energy deployment.
Ep: 141 || Doug Jensen, General Manager, Cameco || Cameco's role in producing revolutionary tubing and their future work on SMRs.
Ep: 142 || Sean Donnelly, Team Lead, UBattery || How the U-Battery will transform nuclear construction worldwide.
Ep: 143 || Paula Maguire, Fmr. Training Manager, Ontario Power Generation || Inspiring the utility workforce from the plant floor up.
Ep: 144 || Bill Fox, Executive Vice President, SNC-Lavalin || Costs, construction and scheduling of reactor design innovations.
Ep: 145 || Katy Huff, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois || How computational scientists are improving nuclear heat transfer efficiency.
Ep: 146 || Tomasz Kozlowski, Associate Professor, University of Illinois || The Experimental Breeder Reactor II as a fuel reprocessing solution.
Ep: 147 || James Stubbins, Professor, University of Illinois || Materials and design considerations in nuclear technology development.
Ep: 148 || Neal Cohen, Senior Vice President, NEI || The importance of nuclear energy for reducing global carbon emissions.
Energy Impact Center, 641 S ST NW, Washington, DC 20001, United States
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