Breakthrough Dialogues

What went wrong with big nuclear?

Listen on

Episode notes

A more innovative nuclear sector will require tilting the playing field away from large, incumbent firms and toward small, entrepreneurial startups. Today we sit down with Lenka Kollar, director of strategy and external relations at one of those innovators: NuScale, an advanced nuclear company widely considered to be the furthest along among its competition. NuScale designs and commercializes small modular reactors, the first of which is planned to open in Idaho by 2026. On today’s episode: what went wrong with big nuclear, the reception of advanced nuclear within the broader clean tech community, and how to engage the general public (hint: it requires community agency, and begins far before the tech is deployed).