In this interview, Speaker A explains how the 2011 Fukushima incident dramatically altered the nuclear industry's trajectory, prompting a move away from costly gigawatt‑class liquid‑metal reactors toward microreactors and small modular reactors (SMRs). The discussion emphasizes that modern advanced reactors are designed to be inherently safe, relying on passive physics‑based mechanisms rather than active operator actions. A central technical enabler is TRISO fuel—silicon‑carbide‑coated fuel particles that retain fission products and resist melting, enabling passive safety designs. Market demand is now driven by remote communities, defense applications, and space propulsion, with AI accelerating design and investment. Private capital is flowing into the sector, and Speaker A highlights his role in scaling TRISO fuel production through Ultra Safe Nuclear, a company backed primarily by former CIA officer Richard Hall Helms.
Chapters
2011, something happened in the nuclear industry called Fukushima incident. So that kind of poured a bucket of cold ice on the big gigawatt-class reactors. After that, there's been a big push for microreactors, small modular reactors. All these so-called advanced reactors, they're all 1950s, '60s, '70s designs. They've all been built and demonstrated in the past. Every reactor that's under development today is inherently safe. It means you're not relying on Billy pressing the button at the right time or the pump coming on. You're relying on the laws of physics, gravity, natural phenomena. If that goes away, you're in trouble. But when you have a fuel that has silicon carbide coating layers that kind of retains the fission products and doesn't melt, that is a key enabler of these passive designs. Fast forward, there's a few things happening. First, the big gigawatt-class liquid reactors. Who wants to pay $20 billion?
So these are the big things people are used to seeing in photos when they think of a nuclear reactor. That's right.
The other thing that happened is there's the demand coming in from remote communities, but also, you know, defense is strongly in there. You've got space for propulsion. And then AI comes in. That's why there's an incredible advanced reactor industry out there with a lot of private capital, very serious people. If you look at the advanced reactors, there's 70-80% chance that they're using TRISO fuel instead of big concrete rebar dome in the pictures that you talk about, or a big pressure vessel that blew up in Fukushima. You've got billions of these small ceramic pressure vessels. This is why a lot of these advanced reactor developers are using this fuel. I wanted to come in and actually deliver this fuel in industrial scale. I transitioned to this company company called Ultra Safe Nuclear.
Which is the best name. Don't worry, guys. Yeah, this is really safe. So it was Ultra Safe Nuclear.
Yeah, primarily backed by Richard Hall Helms. He was a patriot, ex-CIA.
Ex-CIA. I mean, this whole story is bananas, man. We got an ex-CIA, an Iranian nuclear scientist, a Green Beret.
