Nuclear Barbarians

On today’s episode we take a brief break from all things nuclear to discuss the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Arnab Datta, Managing Director of Policy Implementation at Employ America, joined me to break down the basics of the SPR and outline what can be done to make it more robust.This one’s for the real energy heads and anyone who cares about American resilience.“Trade the SPR, Save the SPR” by Arnab Datta.You can find Arnab on X.

In the final installment of my follow up series with nuclear companies, I spoke with Jonathan Webb, the co-founder and CEO of The Nuclear Company. For those who don’t know, TNC is pursuing a fleet-scale build of big reactors (and perhaps small ones too!) with cutting edge tech to turn blue collar workers into the Iron Men of megaprojects. Jonathan broke down his vision for nuclear, why workers are the key to everything, what’s going on with TNC’s VC Summer build, and so much more. His big-hearted passion for nuclear really struck a chord with me. Check out last year’s episode with TNC’s Chief Nuclear Officer, Joe Klecha, here. And, if you’re in DC, check out TNC’s operating system demo at Deep Tech Week on September 8th! Visit TNC’s website to learn more.

Matt Loszak, co-founder and CEO of Aalo Atomics, leads a startup mass-manufacturing small nuclear plants for AI data centers. He discusses Aalo’s reactor milestone, DOE pilot program experiences, supply-chain and turbine tradeoffs, factory scaling and vertical integration, fuel choices, and the personal challenges of building fast in a high-stakes program.

Tyler Bernstein, co-founder and CEO of Zeno Power, builds radioisotope nuclear batteries for deep-sea, Arctic, and lunar power. He explains why industrial-scale production became urgent and how refurbishing Vallecitos Nuclear Center’s hot cells unlocks higher throughput. They discuss supply, regulatory coordination, and use cases from subsea sensors to powering a permanent lunar base.

I'll admit, I'm a bit of a fusion skeptic. But! There are exciting things happening in the fusion industry these days. So, I brought Andrew Holland, CEO of the Fusion Industry Association, to talk to me about why things are looking up for fission's avant-garde cousin. Andrew's candor, insight, and enthusiasm made him a great guest. I had questions about everything from break-even hurdles to robotics and he handled it all with aplomb. I came away from this episode convinced that regardless of how near or far away commercial fusion may be, America should invest in R&D to try and crack it: the tech is too cool and the lessons we'll learn along the way too valuable.

In today’s episode, I got to talk about something near and dear to my heart (nuclear waste reprocessing) with Carl Perez of Exodys Energy, a nuclear waste reprocessing company. Carl is a wealth of knowledge, as you’ll hear in the episode. We discuss the basics of waste reprocessing, the history of the industry, what makes Exodys stand out, and why getting waste reprocessing right will change the world. Check out Exodys here.

Today I’m joined by Julie Kozeracki, the Chief Investment Officer of the Energy Dominance Financing Office, which serves as the Department of Energy’s bank. We talk about her admiration for Admiral Hyman Rickover, the nature of the EDF, financing large light water reactors and small modular reactors, why the EDF’s operations are vital to a nuclear renaissance in America, and more! I felt really lucky to speak with Julie. I’m a huge fan of hers and a major supporter of the EDF’s work. Read more about the EDF here!

Jeff Waksman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, leads Army microreactor efforts including Janus and previously Project Pele. He discusses scaling prototypes into commercial products. He talks about transport and fuel-loading challenges, supply chain and materials R&D needs, and how to concentrate expertise and funding to avoid costly one-off builds.

Ken Rueter, President and CEO of United Cleanup Oak Ridge, leads large-scale cleanup of Manhattan Project and Cold War sites. He explains the five-step remediation process. He describes heavy equipment, robotics, AI and digital twins used for safer decontamination. He talks about transforming contaminated land into brownfields and partnering to enable federal and commercial reuse.

Reed Clay, President of the Texas Nuclear Alliance, joined me today to talk about how Texas is gearing up for the nuclear renaissance. We discussed how he came to support nuclear by learning about waste, what has set Texas’s nuclear strategy apart from other states, how TNA’s annual summit is shaping the national nuclear landscape, and Reed’s advice for other states that want to become nuclear hubs.Reed is a humble, hard-working guy and it was a pleasure to speak with him.