Titans Of Nuclear | Interviewing World Experts on Nuclear Energy

Episode Content: Steve's start working on Probabilistic Risk Assessment with the UK Energy Authority. Sizewell B and the significance of the Wash 1400 safety study. Risk assessment v. risk perception. The definition of risk and why it is important to analyze it. The industry's transition to utilizing a risk-informed approach in design. A breakdown of the categorization of nuclear facilities. The viability, benefits, and challenges of extracting uranium from seawater. PNNL's relationship with the Hanford Site. A discussion of reprocessing through a risk assessment perspective. The Golden Age of Nuclear and when it will happen.

Episode Content: Ed's start at the US Department of Energy doing nuclear non-proliferation security work. The decisions behind Dirty Bomb Threat Reduction and Global Threat Reduction Initiative. The US' responsibility to continue its high standard of security and safety. How the US can compete against Russia and China's state-financed nuclear industries. The Department of Energy's role in the private nuclear market. Why the small modular reactor will pave the way towards a new nuclear generation. The difficulties of maneuvering politics and Presidential Administrations. Short-term challenges and creating an industry-led commercialization pathway. What the future of the industry will look like.

Episode Content:​ Bill's introduction to the nuclear industry through a co-op program at Drexel University. The importance of the design of a power plant and the logistics of its constructibility. The Nuclear Quality Assurance Requirements and the emergence of larger plants. Mitigating concerns, regulatory-driven changes after the Three Mile Island Accident. Prudence Litigation and the financial vulnerabilities within the nuclear industry. An explanation of the Single-Shell Tank Clean-Up Program. A discussion of the United States' departure from the nuclear industry. The Fast-flux Test Facility shutdown and exploring how to use radio isotopes for medical applications, such as cancer therapy. The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership and the Traveling-Wave Reactor.

Jim's start as an extraterrestrial scientist and coordinator of shuttle activities. Transition to nuclear waste as he moved to PNNL as a geology pair with his wife, Judith. 3 styles of decision making in science policy: ignore science, make it the basis of the decision, retroactively justify the decision with science. Yucca Mountain is the wrong rock, dripping wet and corrosive. WIPP Carlsbad, New Mexico, Permian Basin has perfect salt chemistry. A comparison between the future of China and the US' nuclear industries. Dilution as a waste mitigation strategy, discussion of Fukishima and Tritium. A discussion of how the media sources portrays expertise. A discussion of grout v. glass vitrification processes. Waste disposal methods, political contentions, and the power of the Constitution.

Amy's work at the NRC's atomic safety licensing board on waste and interim storage. An overview of nuclear liability and explanation of the Price-Anderson act. Deploying technology abroad, the nuclear export control regime, 10CFR- Part 810, general & specific authorizations, 123 agreements, political considerations. The ability of national security to drive legal policies and decisions. How the "Gold Standard Provision" affects enrichment and reprocessing access. The implicit understanding behind "atoms for peace" initiative and the inverse correlation between energy production and weapons production. Addressing capital risk and the evolution of capital sources, including impact investing. Collaboration between nuclear developers (new and old) and climate-driven acceptance.

Episode Content:​ Josh's journey from American political history to Nuclear advocacy Storytelling as a tool to motivate action Third Way's focus areas, clean energy policies, and how they found advanced nuclear How climate change and natural gas changed the perception and rules of energy Identifying key changes such as: access to the lab & regulatory modernization Questioning the role of public perceptions' influence on the industry Across the aisle legislative efforts enabling the next generation of nuclear Developing a consensus around technology, market, and research needs De-Risking capital, technology, and regulatory risk moving into the future

Episode Content: Rita's start in Materials Engineering at MIT, her transition into the space research world Her work at Westinghouse in their fuel fabrication facility Scouting "Game Changing" technologies across robotics, advanced reactors, advanced chemical engineering, advanced manufacturing, digital instrumentation and control How her experience working between Westinghouse and the Labs helped her understand the shortcomings she needed to fix from the inside GAIN initiatives: Vouchers, Workshops, Facilitating industry work with the labs Fuel testing for advanced reactors and the need to build a domestic Fast Test Reactor The formation of a 30 Million dollar per year for 5 years open ended funding opportunity A quick discussion of the NRC modernizing their licensing framework

Episode Content: The ARC origen story through resurrection of a decades old nuclear prototype EBR-2 A technical discussion on "closing the fuel cycle", "breeding", "electrochemical refining" The advantages of ARC from a Waste, Cost, Safety and matching market conditions A discussion of sodium and "pool type" vs "loop type" design A discussion of metallic uranium fuel vs uranium oxide Negative reactivity feedback characteristics enabled by neutron leakage Historical examples of this style reactor's inherent safety features A quick comparison of the four metal fuel designs ARC, PRISM, OKLO, and TERRAPOWER Nuclear economics and how to balance economies of scale vs diseconomies of scale Advantages of the Canadian Licensing Regime: 2 stages & risk-based approach

Episode Content: The origin story of Clearpath and politics role in the climate divide The "full toolkit" solution to world energy The "more innovation and less regulation" approach to federal policy An explanation of Production Tax credits and how they fit into energy markets "Leveling the playing field" for zero emissions standards How they focus on the innovation and the government's role in R&D Refocusing the Department of Energy's R&D efforts with moonshot initiatives Changing the paradigm of how we build new nuclear Three other research groups intensely focused on understanding construction costs China - and the risks of us ceding world nuclear leadership to them Energy's role in international political relationships The three things we need to move the industry forward...

Episode Content: Mark's background in geology and how that ties in to spent fuel disposal His lab career starting at Los Alamos, then Argonne, then INL INL's history and role in developing nuclear technology New technologies that help bring advanced reactors to fruition Specifically how INL helps facilitate the commercialize new reactor technology How the National Labs work with industry and role of R&D in US competitiveness INL's work as the "underwriter's lab" of storage technology How the various contributions of the national labs work as a whole system How competing on ideas drives science forward Smartgrid, cybersecurity, and design with resiliency in mind The importance of multidisciplinary learning and Mark's insight looking towards the future of technology