Founding Zeno: Vanderbilt to early advisors

Some environments are simply too harsh for traditional power sources. Solar panels fail in darkness, batteries die quickly, and diesel can’t reach. That’s where Zeno Power comes in. The company is pioneering nuclear batteries, compact systems that recycle radioactive waste into safe, reliable power for years at a time.

On this episode of Valley of Depth, I’m joined by Tyler Bernstein, co-founder and CEO of Zeno Power. We trace the journey from a Vanderbilt classroom project to a venture-backed company with $70M in private capital, $60M+ in NASA and DoD contracts, and a working nuclear prototype. Tyler shares how Zeno is positioning itself to power critical frontier operations: autonomous systems on the seabed, satellites in orbit, and landers on the Moon.

We also discuss:

• How a nuclear battery works and why Strontium-90 is Zeno’s starting fuel
• What it takes to safely turn nuclear waste into usable power
• The use cases that only nuclear batteries can unlock
• The business model: selling units vs. power-as-a-service vs. revenue sharing
• Navigating the unique regulatory path for radioisotope systems
• The risks of scaling a nuclear startup

…and much more.

This episode is brought to you by World Space Business Week, taking place September 15–19 in Paris. WSBW is one of the leading annual gatherings for the global space industry, bringing together executives, investors, government officials, and innovators from across commercial, defense, and satellite sectors. Learn more at wsbw.com.

• Chapters •

00:00 – Intro & WSBW Ad
01:26 – Tyler's background and how he came to co-found Zeno Power
04:13 – Is it normal for Vanderbilt to support their students' ideas and startups?
05:11 – Key mentors/validators of Tyler's business
07:06 – Zeno's products and $70M fundraising
09:12 – What is a nuclear battery and how does it work?
12:40 – How Zeno is carefully handling Strontium-90
14:39 – Future use cases for Strontium-90
15:53 – Advantages of nuclear battery
18:09 – Energy limits and stacking
19:30 – DoD and commercial customers
21:20 – Future business model
22:52 – How does Tyler think about pricing?
24:31 – How does regulation look for nuclear batteries?
27:00 – Will there be meaningful change coming out of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)?
29:03 – Competition
31:25 – Turning nuclear waste into valuable power
34:12 – The future of nuclear waste disposal
37:47 – Biggest technical risks Zeno is combating
40:46 – Scaling the Stirling generator
41:49 – Zeno's testing infrastructure
43:08 – What keeps Tyler up at night
47:16 – Is Tyler optimistic about the future of energy in the US?
48:41 – Zeno's legacy in 20 years

• Show notes •

Zeno Power’s website — https://www.zenopower.com/
Mo's socials — https://twitter.com/itsmoislam
Payload’s socials — https://twitter.com/payloadspace / https://www.linkedin.com/company/payloadspace
Ignition’s socials — https://twitter.com/ignitionnuclear / 
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ignition-nuclear/
Tectonic’s socials  — https://twitter.com/tectonicdefense / https://www.linkedin.com/company/tectonicdefense/
Valley of Depth archive — Listen: https://pod.payloadspace.com/

• About us •

Valley of Depth is a podcast about the technologies that matter — and the people building them. Brought to you by Arkaea Media, the team behind Payload (space), Ignition (nuclear energy), and Tectonic (defense tech), this show goes beyond headlines and hype. We talk to founders, investors, government officials, and military leaders shaping the future of national security and deep tech. From breakthrough science to strategic policy, we dive into the high-stakes decisions behind the world’s hardest technologies.

• Payload: www.payloadspace.com
• Ignition: www.ignition-news.com
• Tectonic: www.tectonicdefense.com