Gener8

Understanding the challenges for the electrical grid of today, let alone tomorrow, can sometimes seem extremely daunting; however, this often ignored institutional facet of everyday life is becoming more and more a topic for public discussion. To dive into those trends and learn more about all things electricity, a topic central to us at Gener8, we were excited to welcome Gene Rodrigues, Assistant Secretary of Energy, for the Office of Electricity at the US Department of Energy (DOE). While new to his role with DOE, Gene is no stranger to utility, government, and consumer perspectives around electricity reliability and modernization and joined us to share his perspectives and insights about the work of his office. 
  
Our conversation started with a dive into high voltage transformers and why, as well as how, they have become a challenged supply chain issue for our grids. Gene also shared some of the support his office is offering to rectify these domestic supply chain issues and why growing the domestic supply chain is so important. After learning more about Gene personally and what brought him to government service, we turned to consumer perspectives around reliability and home backup storage and then pivoted to learning more about grid scale long duration energy storage challenges and opportunities. As a Californian himself, Gene then offered some pragmatic insights around what we can learn from the energy challenges recently faced in the state before closing out our discussion with a general call to action for better understanding of and participation in the grid reliability and modernization discussion. We found Gene to be extremely passionate about his role and what his office is doing to make sure that Americans always have reliable electricity and we hope that comes across to you as well.

Understanding the challenges around reducing emissions in industrial segments of our economy can often seem like the elephant in the room for energy transition discussions. To learn more about some of the efforts to better assess these challenges and adapt to them, we visited with Dr. Sean Bushart, an Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)-sponsored World Economic Forum (WEF) Project Fellow, who is supporting collaboration between EPRI, WEF, Accenture and others on the “ Transitioning Industrial Clusters Towards Net Zero” initiative. 
  
We jumped right into our conversation with Sean sharing a little bit about the scale and range of challenges in industrial decarbonization as well as how those differ and align domestically and abroad. Sean then shared how the initiative he is supporting focuses on those associated opportunities and what the collaborations and clusters the initiative is supporting look like. After learning a little more about Sean directly and about EPRI’s emphasis on industrial decarbonization, we talked a little about motivation and drivers as well as examples of where existing infrastructure can play a strong role. Closing on an optimistic note, we looked to the future and asked Sean to share some perspectives around where we might see the most successes in the near and long term. We look forward to watching this initiative with great interest in the coming days and years and we hope you will find this conversation as informative and interesting as we did.

Carbon capture technology continues to play a larger and larger part in the discussion around energy transition goals and commitments. Learning more about this growing market is always of interest to us as believers in evaluating as many solutions as possible to the energy transition discussion.  Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA) and today’s guest,  Mike Fowler, Vice President of Business Development for the Engineered System Division of MHIA, have been focused on this technology for years and it was fascinating to speak with Mike and hear his perspectives from the inside.  

We began our conversation with Mike discussing the recent trends that have driven interest and changes in the carbon capture market as well as how government support mechanisms can influence the decisions being made around this technology. Mike then offered some perspectives of where the space may go from here and how MHIA aims to support the changing industry dynamics. We also touched on investment drivers as well as the interest needed for future market participants to engage before closing out our discussion with the challenges surrounding widespread adoption. We very much enjoyed this conversation, learned quite a bit, and hope you will find it insightful as well! 

Progress around the advancement of fusion energy technology has been making the rounds in media circles in recent months and we decided to dive into the fusion energy discussion with this episode of Gener8. Continuing the trend of reaching out to smart friends, we had the opportunity to visit with a former colleague from my time working with environmental NGOs, Dr. Richard Pearson, Co-Founder and Chief Innovator of Kyoto Fusioneering. Richard’s academic career was centered around the challenges associated with fusion energy deployment and Kyoto Fusioneering aims to provide services and equipment to the growing field of fusion energy developers. 
  
After learning a little bit about his background and the aims of Kyoto Fusioneering, our conversation with Richard turned to the recent "breakthrough" announcements at the US National Ignition Facility (NIF), and what that means for the development of commercial fusion technology writ large. We also discussed the explosion in interest and funding for fusion technology before Richard offered us five areas that remain challenging for fusion deployment and how that might translate into timelines and commercialization for future fusion projects. We closed out the conversation with Richard's perspective on applications and what the broader discussion on fusion should mean to companies thinking about the energy challenges of today and tomorrow. We learned a lot about fusion energy chatting with Richard and we hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did. 

Concerns around energy are not just limited to the commercial world. In today’s episode, we visit with Dr. Jeff Waksman, a program manager at the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Strategic Capabilities Office, to discuss just how important energy is to the U.S. government when considering operational logistics and protecting American armed forces from harm. Jeff is currently supporting the DOD’s Project Pele, an effort to demonstrate mobile, transportable, micronuclear technology that can displace some of the 30 TWhr of electricity the DOD uses each year along with the 10+ million gallons of fuel used every day. 
  
With our set of 8 questions, Jeff Tillery and I probed into just what factors led the DOD to consider the need for, as well as the benefits to the DOD for mobile, micronuclear technology. We also cover how the DOD can overcome some of the cost challenges that are envisioned around first of a kind nuclear technology. Dr. Waksman previously spent several years working for NASA, and we also talked about how his experience there helped pave the way for the activities currently being engaged in as well as what success from those endeavors can be applied herein. Additionally, as commercially minded folks, Jeff and I asked Dr. Waksman about the importance of the commercial world in supplying such technology and whether one-off solutions were really what the DOD is looking for. While mobile, micronuclear technology may be new to the DOD, the Navy and other branches have decades of experience with mobile and fixed nuclear technology. Dr. Waksman also shared a little history of the evolution within the DOD that led to the current thinking. In our last few minutes, we switch gears slightly to examine the role that nuclear energy can play in space activities and what NASA is pursuing. 
  
The topics we discussed with Jeff Waksman had many parallels to the everyday commercial discussions that we are more regularly engaged in. We hope that you will find the perspectives offered as interesting as we did.

In our newest episode, we were very excited to chat with Isabelle Boemeke, a fashion model turned clean energy influencer and advocate. I first met Isabelle several years ago when she launched the @Isodope social brand and became very active in the discussion, and advocacy around, continued operations of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in California.  

Jeff and I used 8 questions about Isabelle’s background and advocacy work to better understand how someone could desire to make such a fundamental life change (from being a fashion model to being a thoughtful advocate) and what impact Isabelle’s work has made. Originally a Brazilian citizen, the viewpoints Isabelle offered were colored by her upbringing as well as her perspective on energy availability and scarcity. As mostly social media observers-only, rather than deep engagers, Jeff and I probed into the messages that Isabelle is working to spread, how they’re received, and how others can help amplify that message. Moreover, we were fascinated to learn about and discuss Isabelle’s transition from social media advocate solely to boots on the ground direct advocacy and grassroots organizing.  
  
We learned a lot chatting with Isabelle. We hope you will too, and that you'll join us for future episodes.

We are thrilled to introduce Gener8, a podcast dedicated to the world of nuclear, power, and industrial heat with biweekly concise, thoughtful, and in-depth discussions with expert guests. With Jeff Tillery and I as hosts, the program will highlight significant areas of our energy systems that are not often exposed or not exposed as frequently as preferred with the goal to enhance our more fulsome views of the energy markets and where they are headed. As a member of our Sponsor community, you’ll receive exclusive access ahead of public distribution. 
  
For our first episode, we visit with Dr. Kathryn Huff, Assistant Secretary of Energy for the Office of Nuclear Energy at the US Department of Energy. In response to our 8 questions, Dr. Huff, or Katy, as I have known her for over a decade, thoughtfully walked us through many of the activities and priorities of the Office of Nuclear Energy as well as the path that led her from academia to government service. Our discussion touched on the opportunities for replacing retiring coal assets with nuclear energy as well as the Department’s role and desire to advance progress around nuclear waste management.  Before leaving us, Dr. Huff also shared with us some thoughts on the challenges for future nuclear energy deployments, the numerous incentive options for government support, and the most effective way to think about all these topics in their entirety. 
  
We deeply enjoyed chatting with Dr. Huff for our first episode and hope you’ll join us for future episodes.