Nuclear Barbarians

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!

For this episode, my guest is Jeff Waksman, whose official title is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. That’s a long title. In brief, he’s trying to get microreactors built for the US Army via the Janus Program. We discussed the nature of the program, unforeseen challenges in hard tech, why the Army is pursuing microreactors, and more!
You can learn more about Janus here.
And you can follow Jeff Waksman on X—which I heartily recommend.

One of the best parts of running this podcast is the chance to learn about aspects of the nuclear industry I know little about. Today’s guest, the President and CEO of United Clean Up Oak Ridge, taught me all about remediating nuclear sites. UCOR, the DOE’s contractor for the Oak Ridge Reservation, boasts an impressive suite of expertise and logistical acumen dedicated to turning over former Manhattan Project sites for civilian and government use. Ken broke down the steps of remediation and the heavy machinery needed (including robots!) to deliver on these projects. I really appreciated the beauty of his vision: remediating Manhattan project sites to spur the nuclear renaissance.
 
This episode brought out the little kid in me. A huge thank you to Ken for making the time for our discussion.
 
You can learn more about UCOR here.

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.