Investing into the energy transition
Investors seeking to invest in funds that are aiding humanity's transition away from fossil fuels have long had a very difficult time. First, most mutual funds still invest in fossil fuels. Impact or "green" funds that endeavor to eliminate emissions, frequently just fail to invest in energy at all. Yet energy is vital to a functioning society. Virtually no funds held allocation in nuclear power generation. Those that did, invested in public utilities and mining companies. In 2016, we recognized that there were numerous small, privately-held ventures innovating around nuclear power, seeking to develop advanced and simplified reactors that could meet the need in the market for smaller, more affordable, low-carbon power systems. We wanted to invest in these ventures but there were no investment vehicles available.
A nuclear-focused fund
We kept watching this tiny sector develop. By 2018, the number of ventures working to innovate how nuclear energy is done had nearly doubled, based upon the attendance at the 3rd Advanced Nuclear Summit. Nearly all were trying to figure out how to raise capital. Then Rod Adams published this post at Atomic Insights, saying "I’d be interested in hearing from anyone with thoughts about developing mechanisms for investors with moderate resources and long time horizons to focus part of their portfolio in this potentially high payoff field." This started a conversation that has continued to this day, and which eventually led to the formation of Nucleation Capital.
Meet the team
Nucleation Capital is co-managed by Valerie Gardner and Rod Adams, with support from Rick DeGolia, Dr. Jonathan Tiemann, Ian Brusewitz and many others. We spent our first few years flying across the country in order to meet all together but then Covid hit. We have since enjoyed the benefits of perfecting remote work coordination and have received and continue to receive guidance from dozens of sophisticated venture investors, nuclear power experts, clean energy policy wonks, climate change advocates, fusion investors, family office advisors, carbon accounting mavens, EPC and investment experts—nearly all of which has been virtual. Nucleation, as close as you can come to being a native virtual firm, has built its operations and investment protocols at the height of social distancing lock-downs, which has enabled us to access a very robust and varying remote team, yet keep operating costs quite low. We have superior economics, as a result, and we work to maintain this advantage and pass these savings on to our investors.
Valerie Gardner, Managing Partner & Founder
Valerie Gardner is a seasoned executive and investor with a background in technology entrepreneurship and impact investing. She has co-founded and led five ventures, including Willow Peripherals and WebTV Networks (acquired by Microsoft), both hardware technology ventures that developed and sold category-creating electronics products; two investment firms, Tiemann Investment Advisors (TIA), a $300 AUM registered investment advisory firm which developed a proprietary pronuclear clean energy portfolio strategy, and Nucleation Capital, the first nuclear-focused venture fund, now preparing to launch its second fund; and Climate Coalition, a non-profit advocating for nuclear-inclusive climate policies. Valerie holds an MBA from Yale University and a JD from Northeastern University and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area surrounded by her nuclear family.
Rodney Adams, Managing Partner
Rod Adams is a distinguished nuclear expert and visionary with a comprehensive multi-decadal career in the atomic energy sector. Rod’s passion for nuclear power was built upon his extensive experience through eleven naval deployments as a Navy nuclear submarine engineer, from which he retired as a Commander. In between deployments, Rod founded Adams Atomic Engines, likely the first-ever advanced nuclear start-up but found no VCs ready to invest. Rod held several pivotal roles within innovating nuclear companies following his naval service and launched Atomic Insights in 1995 as a platform through which to discuss and analyze issues facing the nuclear industry. Rod holds both a bachelors degree from the United States Naval Academy (USNA) and a masters in Systems Technology from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and lives in the Tampa Bay Area.
Rick DeGolia, Managing Member
Rick DeGolia is an attorney who has worked in Silicon Valley as a lawyer, senior software executive, business consultant and entrepreneur. He holds a B.A. in American Studies from U.C. Berkeley and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. As a partner with Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, Rick represented emerging growth companies in the software, retail, telecommunications, venture capital and investment banking industries. Rick serves on the board of Peninsula Clean Energy, one of the largest Community Choice Aggregators (CCA's) in California and is an expert in buying clean energy.
Jonathan Tiemann, CFO
Dr. Jonathan Tiemann, co-founder of Tiemann Investment Advisors, LLC, has over 30 years of investment experience, including over 20 years as President and Chief Investment Officer of Tiemann Investment Advisors. Prior to TIA, Dr. Tiemann taught Finance at Harvard Business School for five years before leaving academia for Barclays Global Investors (formerly Wells Fargo Nikko Investment Advisors and currently Blackrock), where he became Chief Investment Strategist, responsible for nearly $200 billion in institutional assets. He earned his B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Yale, his M.S. in Operations Research, and his Ph.D. in Finance from Yale.
Ian Brusewitz, Associate
Ian Brusewitz is an international student from Sweden, in his last year earning a degree in Finance and Business Analytics at Menlo College in Silicon Valley. He brings considerable finance and business acumen as well as energy and resourcefulness to supporting Nucleation Capital's operations. Ian supports investment research, analysis, energy modeling, due diligence, CRM data management, website updates, and a host of other tasks. Ian is fluent in English, Swedish and Norwegian and brings a passion for energy and tech innovation.
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