America's Nuclear Treasure: Insider's Insights from INL
What I Learned visiting Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
Hi everyone🤘,
Unpopular Opinion: NVIDIA is not tech’s big headline.
Why? The biggest challenge we face isn't #GPU (which is pure Capex). It's finding enough megawatts of electricity on the grid (which is R&D).
⚡️Agree? If so, you know why a small group of VCs and I recently visited Idaho National Laboratory for an inside peek at the future of new nuclear.
Drum roll please 🥁,
Pete
P.S. amazing jobs as always at the bottom!
Background: Why ~20 VCs joined me in Idaho Falls
Idaho Falls hosts a national treasure: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), one of 17 U.S. Department of Energy labs, where 6,100 researchers redefine energy and national security.
Together with Scott Nolan at Founders Fund and Aaron Weston at INL, I co-organized the first “Venture Capital Summit” recently. The goal: education. Nuclear is so misunderstood.
Our behind-the-scenes tour revealed immense potential and realistic challenges of nuclear energy, including advanced reactor technologies and innovative fuel solutions.
TL;DR on New Nuclear
Nuclear energy offers immense potential due to its high energy density, with a single uranium atom releasing 50 million times more energy than a carbon atom, and the global push to triple nuclear capacity by 2050. INL's advanced research in reactor technologies and innovative fuel solutions, such as TRISO and Molten Chloride Fast Reactors, highlights a promising future for safer, more efficient nuclear power, crucial for meeting global energy demands and reducing carbon emissions.
Learnings About Nuclear's Capacity
1. High Energy Density of Nuclear Fuel
Fact: A single uranium atom undergoing fission releases 50 million times more energy compared to a carbon atom during chemical combustion
What this means: Nuclear energy is incredibly powerful, offering a compact and efficient way to meet our growing energy needs.
2. The Scale of Global Nuclear Energy Demand
Fact: Twenty countries, including the United States, Japan, and France, have endorsed a declaration at COP28 to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050
What this means: With more countries backing nuclear energy, we can expect significant growth in nuclear power worldwide to help meet the world’s future clean energy requirements— and Net Zero goals.
3. Historic and Ongoing Contributions of EBR-II
Fact: The Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II), which operated from 1964 to 1994, demonstrated the feasibility of a complete power plant with integrated fuel reprocessing and showed an inherently safe response to anticipated transients without scram (ATWS).
What this means: The successful history of EBR-II shows that advanced nuclear reactors can be both safe and efficient, paving the way for future designs.
Learnings About Fuel and Reactor Designs
4. TRISO Fuel: The Future of High-Temperature Reactors
Fact: The Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification Program has irradiated around 1,000,000 TRISO particles, demonstrating low failure rates and high retention of fission products
What this means: New fuel technologies like TRISO can make reactors safer and more efficient, bringing us closer to reliable, advanced nuclear power.
5. Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE)
Fact: The MCRE project aims to achieve critical operation by 2027, utilizing high operating temperatures and low-pressure systems to improve power conversion efficiency and enable industrial applications
What this means: Innovative reactors like the Molten Chloride Fast Reactor could revolutionize the industry with safer, more efficient, and flexible nuclear power.
6. Integrated Fast Reactor (IFR) Program
Fact: The IFR program combined the best features learned from EBR-II, addressing cost, sustainability, safety, proliferation resistance, and waste management
What this means: The IFR program's advancements mean future reactors could be cheaper, safer, and more sustainable, addressing many of today's energy challenges.
Learnings About Waste Management
7. Challenges in Nuclear Waste Management
Fact: The U.S. has stored 86,000 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) discharged across 75 sites. Long-term solutions include deep geological disposal facilities
What this means: While managing nuclear waste is complex, progress in storage and disposal technologies promises safer long-term solutions.
Learnings About Market and Expansion
8. U.S. Nuclear Capacity Expansion
Fact: U.S. utilities have identified the need to add 100 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2050, which could offset emissions equivalent to removing over 100 million cars from the road
What this means: The planned expansion of nuclear power in the U.S. will significantly reduce carbon emissions, contributing to cleaner air and a healthier planet
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9. Economic and Regulatory Hurdles
Fact: Significant challenges face deploying new nuclear reactors, despite advancements. The DOE can authorize R&D reactors without an NRC license, while the NRC oversees commercial and demonstration reactors.
What this means: Overcoming the challenges of deploying new reactors will require continued innovation and supportive policies from both the DOE and NRC, but the potential benefits are enormous.
Learnings About INL's Role
10. INL’s Role in National Security and Energy Research
Fact: Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is a leading center for nuclear energy research and development, home to over 6,100 researchers focused on advancing nuclear energy, renewable systems, and security solutions. INL tests advanced nuclear energy concepts, develops robust nuclear fuels, and operates the world's premier materials test reactor, significantly contributing to the nuclear energy industry.
What this means: INL's cutting-edge research is crucial for developing safe, sustainable, and secure energy solutions, shaping the future of nuclear power.
Conclusion and What’s Next
I believe “need” of nuclear will soon overcome “fear” of nuclear. Our electric grid simply cannot survive the novel demands of AI, electrification, industrial heat, space travel- and so on. So I hope this writeup helps you learn what you missed out!
This Fall, we will have a follow up session on the “Demand Side” of nuclear. Stay tuned!
Pete
Jobs
Here are a few links to cool nuclear startups that are either hiring now or hiring soon!