NextEra Energy has announced plans to restart the 615-MW Duane Arnold plant in Iowa by 2029 under a 25-year power agreement with Google—marking one of the first U.S. data-center-linked nuclear restarts.
Big Tech is investing billions in fusion power startups like Shine Technologies, a Nucleation portfolio company, driven by recent breakthroughs and the vision of a clean energy future...
The blackout that left millions of people across the Iberian peninsula without power, including at the Madrid Open, ignited debate over renewables and fuelled rising interest in nuclear power. More Europeans are questioning whether renewable energy can be relied on to provide a stable source of clean energy. It also fuelled a renewed interest in the global nuclear power renaissance already under way.
Doon Insights, an investment-focused group organized by Howard Chao, convened dozens of subject-matter experts as speakers (see the list below) across many disciplines in Santa Cruz, California to address trends and issues impacting demand for and supply of energy in the coming years and decades. Energy, which is what makes today's technologically-dependent society possible, is a very large and important topic and was a lot to cover. But in an ambitious, rapid-paced one-day conference titled "POWER SURGE: Solving for Unprecedented Energy Demand,"dozens of people laid out the fundamentals and discussed the key questions around both what is driving demand and how will we meet that demand. Questions tackled included:
Demand Side
Why projections for US power needs now greatly exceed what would have been predicted only a couple of year ago
Why the exceptional needs of AI Data Centers and the electrification of diverse parts of the economy are driving energy demand
What are the challenges of building, financing and operating new data centers?
How much more power will these new facilities require? Where will they be located and what is the attitude of utilities, state and federal government towards supporting them?
How will the rapidly changing AI competitive landscape affect these power projections? Does the advent of very cheap, highly efficient, smaller SLMs, open source models and Chinese competitors mean that investors have overestimated the need for huge data centers?
How will the electrification of vehicles, buildings, industry and transactions (blockchain and cryptocurrencies) further accelerate and add significant incremental power demand?
What are the primary challenges to meeting these power demands of these expanding use cases in the coming years and what will be the main challenges to implementation, including the need to expand the transmission capabilities of the grid?
Will the new administration's renewed emphasis on fossil fuels result in a slowdown in electrification?
What will be the impact of the tariffs on the buildout of all these projects?
How will the new administration's energy policies impact all of these areas? Will we be able to unleash power generation sufficient to sustain the foreseeable economic growth while also continuing to reduce carbon emissions?
Supply Side
What are the near and longer-term challenges and solutions to the surge in power demand?
Will growing renewables and batteries be sufficient?
Will fossil fuels experience a resurgence, with all that drilling?
Will the sexiest and biggest solutions—nuclear fission and fusion—be coming on stream faster than most people believe?
What are the short, medium and long-term prospects for these new technologies?
Will the "privatization" of nuclear innovation and the prevalence of an industry being led by fast-moving private companies, pleasantly surprise us with their speed to market?
What will be the near-term and longer-term mix of energy solutions?
How will a patchwork of revamped legacy technologies, including fuel cells, wind, solar, distributed generation, energy storage, energy time-of-use shifting and other behind-the-meter solutions help in the short-term?
How are advancements in small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), which offer enhanced safety features, reduced construction times, and the flexibility to be deployed in diverse locations, going to contribute?
Given that major technology companies like Google and Amazon are investing in SMRs to power their expansive data centers, how will this accelerate commercialization?
Fusion energy—which is experiencing a wave of breakthroughs, with multiple companies and research initiatives racing to develop and commercialize multiple technologies, such as high-temperature superconductors, improved plasma confinement techniques, and novel neutron flux applications—is beginning to generate revenues but has yet to complete a power-generating reactor design. Will the new administration help accelerate progress towards practical fusion power with pilot plants within the decade or is this game-changing technology still decades away?
The Nuclear Option
Valerie Gardner, Nucleation's managing partner, moderated the day's fission panel, called "The Nuclear Option: Generation IV and Small Modular Reactors," which looked at the role of fission innovation and the coming wave of small, modular reactors (SMRs), that were poised to bring nuclear power into the 21st century. She and her panelists, Leah Crider from Westinghouse (seated on the left), representing the eVinci design, and Clayton Scott from NuScale Power (in the center), which has the first NRC-certified advanced fission design, discussed how and why next-generation nuclear will be the ideal clean energy solution that few think is possible.
While the Fission panel had a full 45 minutes (and probably went over-time) to cover a lot of ground, including reviewing nuclear's status as a major source of today's clean energy, the fact that nuclear is turning into a "technology" product that can be manufactured in factories and shipped to locations, and how a growing assortment of energy buyers like Google, Amazon and Dow Chemical see advanced nuclear as solving their energy needs better than other solutions, because the subject matter was so expansive, Valerie and her panel were able to cover many but definitely not all of the important points. Nevertheless, the fact that this conference's supply-side conversation included nuclear fission at all was a huge victory. This inclusion reflects the fact that nuclear energy is no longer seen as the taboo topic it was long deemed to be, at least up until the last couple of years. For too long, nuclear fission was excluded and no one considered it a vital part of the clean energy solution set. But times have changed and especially among investors looking to understand key long-term trends and be able to invest into them at an early stage.
According to Howard Chao, each panel of the conference, by design, was too short, leaving a lot of unfinished conversations. Nucleation Capital was honored to have been included in this discussion and we look forward to continuing to see interest in advanced nuclear broaden.
Amazon has announced a signed agreement with Dominion Energy in Virginia to explore the development and construction of one or more small modular nuclear reactors to use to provide clean power to Amazon Web Services data centers. It is anticipated that Dominion will contract with X-energy to host X-energy's new high-temperature gas reactor at Dominion’s North Anna nuclear power station. This is intended to increase access to clean power for AWS, Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary, which has escalating energy needs as it expands its services into generative AI. The agreement is also a part of Amazon’s path to net-zero carbon emissions.
Amazon Web Services has agreed to invest more than $500 million into advanced nuclear power, through three related projects, that will result in as much as 600 MW of new power generation at locations from Virginia to Washington state. In the process, Amazon is partnering with Dominion Energy, Energy Northwest and X-Energy to explore the development of an X-energy small modular nuclear reactor, or SMR, near Dominion’s existing North Anna nuclear power station.
Amazon, together with Energy Northwest, a consortium of 29 public utility districts and municipalities across Washington, will help fund the deployment of four reactors developed by X-energy totalling approximately 320 MW of new electricity generation. Additionally, Amazon also is making an equity investment into X-energy as part of an approximately $500 million fundraising round announced today by the nuclear technology company and they've signed a separate memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dominion Energy “to explore innovative new development structures that would help advance potential [SMR] nuclear development in Virginia.”
Google's agreement to purchase energy from advanced nuclear reactors to be built by Kairos Power was, in almost every way, earth-shattering. This deal puts advanced nuclear on the energy "leaderboard" for the first time and sends an exceptionally powerful message out into the world—that the tech hyperscalers, a group of extremely sophisticated companies committed to decarbonization—are ready to commit large sums to obtain clean and reliable power from advanced nuclear energy providers. This will inform a whole host of other actors and force them to re-assess their energy options.
To better understand Google's reasoning for this agreement, we turn to the blog post written by Michael Terrell, Googles' Senior Director for Energy and Climate. He confirms right away, that Google's decision to sign the "world's first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors" is intended to "accelerate the clean energy transition across the U.S."
Google is building upon a history of pioneering corporate efforts to accelerate clean energy solutions, which started with agreements to purchase renewable electricity over a decade ago. Those purchase agreements have enabled Google to make claims of powering their operations with "renewable" energy but the reality is that for the last decade, Google's power was pulled from the grid like everyone else's and they could not access carbon-free power on a 24/7 basis. This disturbed them, because they knew that their claims were premised on fancy accounting, not reality, and due to the fungibility of electrons, their actual energy streams remained as dirty as eveyone else's.
Google now takes its first true step into truly managing its carbon emissions with this agreement to support Kairos Power's introduction of its advanced nuclear power system. This is a long-term agreement that enables Kairos to target building multiple initial units by 2030, followed by additional units by 2035. The agreement will enable the construction of up to 500 MW of 24/7 carbon-free power to a number of communities, which indicates that Google is probably planning to site these new reactors in more than one location, possibly co-located with newly-built data centers being planned to meet growing power demands from AI.
Terrell believes that this agreement, to put Google's purchasing heft in accelerating deployments of the next generation of advanced clean technologies, is important for two reasons:
The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI technologies that are powering major scientific advances, improving services for businesses and customers, and driving national competitiveness and economic growth. This agreement helps accelerate a new technology to meet energy needs cleanly and reliably, and unlock the full potential of AI for everyone.
Nuclear solutions offer a clean, round-the-clock power source that can help us reliably meet electricity demands with carbon-free energy every hour of every day. Advancing these power sources in close partnership with supportive local communities will rapidly drive the decarbonization of electricity grids around the world.
In other words, there is growing 24/7 energy demand and growing urgency to eliminate emissions and renewables are not up to the job. Terrell doesn't say that directly but it seems fairly clear that they recognize that they cannot run a rapidly growing 24/7 data center business with intermittent energy sources, even with fancy accounting.
While we don't get a lot of the financial details of this new agreement, whether they will be investing in Kairos or just helping to finance Kairos' journey through their first of a kind (F.O.A.K) build and out into their "nth of a kind" (N.O.A.K) build, Google's alignment of it efforts to develop and commercializeadvanced clean electricity technologies behind Kairos is a formidable combination that promises to help Kairos overcome the remaining barriers for commercialization of its technology.
(From the DOE's Advanced Nuclear LiftOff Report.)
Google's deal with Kairos provides what many experts and the DOE see as a necessary ingredient to break the chicken and egg conundrum: an “orderbook” of reactors. This speeds up Kairos' ability to produce its novel reactors in the quantity necessary to lower costs and bring Kairos Power’s technology to market more quickly. Without out, FOAK pricing can be prohibitive to getting orders. Google, with virtually no other options, has bravely stepped to help scale what is likely to be the first of many advanced nuclear technologies coming to market.
This announcement further inflects the advanced nuclear sector and confirms what we have known all along: both traditional and next-generation nuclear technologies are necessary for us to reach 100% clean power and we'll need a very large and very diverse quantity of new reactors being produced and deployed at scale to fully meet all types of growing energy needs and to shift all demand from fossil fuels to clean energy sources.
Alexander C. Kaufman, writing in the Huffington Post, called the ADVANCE (Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy) Act "the biggest clean-energy bill since Biden's climate law." What it really is, is legislation designed to "reverse the American nuclear industry’s decades-long decline and launch a reactor-building spree to meet surging demand for green electricity at home and to catch up with booming rivals overseas." And, according to Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), a “much needed modernization of our nuclear regulatory framework.”
There are a number of very important provisions in the bill but, one of the most important is the provision which tasks the NRC with rewriting its mission statement so as to avoid unduly limiting nuclear and thereby preventing efforts to allow society to benefit from its clean power. The bill also reduces the fees charged to developers and helps speed up the process for licensing new reactors, hiring key staff and coordinating with foreign regulators to speed deployments.
The passage of the ADVANCE Act continues a long-term trend of strong bipartisan unity on nuclear-related bills, demonstrating agreement by Democrats and Republicans on the importance of expanding clean and reliable energy. The House of Representatives had previously passed its corresponding legislation by a vote of 365 to 36, strengthening and expanding upon the version passed back in July by the Senate.
“Republicans and Democrats recognize the development of new nuclear technologies is critical to America’s energy security and our environment,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the bill’s lead sponsor, said on the Senate floor Tuesday evening. “Today, nuclear power provides about 20% of our nation’s electricity. Importantly, it’s emissions-free electricity that is 24/7, 365 days a year.”
“This bipartisan policy creates the framework for companies to start building that order book for a second project and a third project and ultimately get the NRC ready to license dozens per year,” said Nicholas McMurray, the managing director of international and nuclear policy at energy policy group ClearPath.
The ADVANCE Act is specifically tailored to boost the next generation of reactors being designed now, that are not currently in commercial production in the U.S. Some of these newer designs will be migrating away from water cooling and will use other types of coolants, such as liquid metal or high-temperature gas, which have a range of benefits, such as enhanced safety, allowing reactors to run on different types of fuel, producing less waste and being able to operate at higher temperatures and be sized to suit the needs of users in more settings than a traditional nuclear plant.
In recognition of these so-called fourth-generation reactor models’ unique uses and the urgency of bringing these designs to market, the bill authorizes the Department of Energy to give out financial awards to the first companies to meet specific goals, such as using fuel made from recycled nuclear waste or generating heat that could be used for industrial process heat, rather than electricity production.
Together, these actions amount to laying the foundation necessary to help America finally compete with Russia and China. Speaking in support of the legislation Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the bill would “support job growth, clean energy and leadership while preserving the NRC’s fundamental safety mission.'
Bill Gates wrote about this ground-breaking in Kemmerer, Wyoming on his GatesNotes blog and he provided further background on his interest in advanced nuclear, which started as far back as 2008. It just so happened that when he fell in love with the density, inherent safety and superior performance of advanced nuclear power, he was able to afford to hire a team and launch TerraPower on his own. It also didn't hurt that he happened to be buddies with Warren Buffet, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, the company that owns PacifiCorp, which owns a lot of struggling coal plants, so he was able to score a site on the property of a retiring coal plant, on which to plan to build his demonstration reactor.
In fact, advanced nuclear holds tremendous prospects for resurrecting the value of these ill-fated plants and the economic vitality of those regions suffering from the closures of coal, most of which are closing as a result of competition form cheap natural gas that is also better suited for being "dispatched," at a minute's notice, if, let's say, the wind stops blowing. As many as 80% of these plants could, according to a study done by the DOE, be converted to advanced nuclear plants cost-effectively, because they are reuse turbines, generators and even transmission lines that are already there. Taking what are currently brownfield sites with very little value because of the toxicity, health and carbon-impacts of coal and converting them to clean power plants that use advanced fission to generate both power and heat, is starting to look like a very lucrative endeavor.
No wonder Bill Gates has already invested over a billion dollars and has committed to putting billions more of his own funds into this venture. Being the sixth wealthiest person in the world gives him this option. And, if you think that, because you read a lot and you've had exeptional success with a software company, that you have what it takes to create the best advanced nuclear technology and believe that it will be rapidly adopted and deployed around the world and possibly put the remainder of the world's coal plants out of business, investing your billions into that makes total sense.
For the rest of us, however, investing into a venture fund like Nucleation Capital, which is dedicated to building a diversified pool of advanced nuclear ventures with various alternative designs, more than a few of which could find real traction within differing niches of the energy markets which also need power but may prefer a different configuration or set of features, may make more sense and pose considerably less risk. Especially when the fund provides low-cost participation, so that those of us not in the top ten wealthiest humans list, can access that fund without breaking the bank but nevertheless have a meaningful chance of participating in the growth of nuclear around the world.
According to numerous analyses, the Biden Administration is taking decisive steps to support the construction of large-scale nuclear reactors, crucial for meeting our clean energy goals, as well as supporting the licensing and development of next-generation nuclear power plants. The White House has formed an expert group whose focus and mission will be to work on solving the problems that are cause delays to new projects and thus eliminate, reduce or mitigate industry risks to ensure timely completion of projects and bolster progress towards a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. The text of the White House Fact Sheet is so perfect, it is better to reprint it than attempt to summarize it. See the first few paragraphs below, but click the links to go directly to the sources.
For decades, nuclear power has been the largest source of clean energy in the United States, accounting for 19% of total energy produced last year. The industry directly employs nearly 60,000 workers in good paying jobs, maintains these jobs for decades, and supports hundreds of thousands of other workers. In the midst of transformational changes taking place throughout the U.S. energy system, the Biden-Harris Administration is continuing to build on President Biden’s unprecedented goal of a carbon free electricity sector by 2035 while also ensuring that consumers across the country have access to affordable, reliable electric power, and creating good-paying clean energy jobs. Alongside renewable power sources like wind and solar, a new generation of nuclear reactors is now capturing the attention of a wide range of stakeholders for nuclear energy’s ability to produce clean, reliable energy and meet the needs of a fast-growing economy, driven by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and manufacturing boom. The Administration recognizes that decarbonizing our power system, which accounts for a quarter of all the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, represents a pivotal challenge requiring all the expertise and ingenuity our nation can deliver.
The Biden-Harris Administration is today hosting a White House Summit on Domestic Nuclear Deployment, highlighting the collective progress being made from across the public and private sectors. Under President Biden’s leadership, the Administration has taken a number of actions to strengthen our nation’s energy and economic security by reducing – and putting us on the path to eliminating – our reliance on Russian uranium for civil nuclear power and building a new supply chain for nuclear fuel, including: signing on to last year’s multi-country declaration at COP28 to triple nuclear energy capacity globally by 2050; developing new reactor designs; extending the service lives of existing nuclear reactors; and growing the momentum behind new deployments. Recognizing the importance of both the existing U.S. nuclear fleet and continued build out of large nuclear power plants, the U.S. is also taking steps to mitigate project risks associated with large nuclear builds and position U.S. industry to support an aggressive deployment target.
To help drive reactor deployment while ensuring ratepayers and project stakeholders are better protected, theAdministration is announcing today the creation of a Nuclear Power Project Management and Delivery working group that will draw on leading experts from across the nuclear and megaproject construction industry to help identify opportunities to proactively mitigate sources of cost and schedule overrun risk. Working group members will be made up of federal government entities, including the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy, the White House Office of Clean Energy Innovation & Implementation, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Department of Energy. The working group will engage a range of stakeholders, including project developers, engineering, procurement and construction firms, utilities, investors, labor organizations, academics, and NGOs, which will each offer individual views on how to help further the Administration’s goal of delivering an efficient and cost-effective deployment of clean, reliable nuclear energy and ensuring that learnings translate to cost savings for future construction and deployment.
The United States Army is also announcing that it will soon release a Request for Information to inform a deployment program for advanced reactors to power multiple Army sites in the United States. Small modular nuclear reactors and microreactors can provide defense installations resilient energy for several years amid the threat of physical or cyberattacks, extreme weather, pandemic biothreats, and other emerging challenges that can all disrupt commercial energy networks. Alongside the current defense programs through the Department of the Air Force microreactor pathfinder at Eielson AFB and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) Project Pele prototype transportable microreactor protype, the Army is taking a key role in exploring the deployment of advanced reactors that help meet their energy needs. These efforts will help inform the regulatory and supply chain pathways that will pave the path for additional deployments of advanced nuclear technology to provide clean, reliable energy for federal installations and other critical infrastructure.
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No wonder Bill Gates has already invested over a billion dollars and has committed to 
