Monday May 05, 2025
Good Disruption: Episode 25 - Small Nuclear
AI requires data, lots of it. Tech companies are rapidly building new data centers to house it, which will require massive amounts of electricity. How do we power them and stay on track with our emission reduction goals?
An unlikely candidate is emerging – nuclear energy. But it’s not the reactor of the 60s that is being built. Small modular nuclear reactors are dispatchable, site-flexible, and safe but can they overcome the regulatory, financial, and public perception hurdles to more broadly scale?
Mike and Yael speak with Stephen Leff (MBA '20), a Project Manager at BWX Technologies and expert in nuclear energy sources about the promise and challenges of this clean tech solution.
22 days ago
Great podcast! I have a friend who is a big fan of thorium as a fuel and molten salt as a coolant. Like other next wave nuke work it has been studied since the ’50s but kept off grid. Now China is building the first one. It’s a paradigm shift from the current concept of nukes and radioactive fuel issues and is very exciting. Also the new versions of pebble bed reactors - pellet fuel - is also very exciting. But this is a great conversation with Lynchburg’s BWX Technologies, a nuclear force in the sector. Thank you!