Latest news with #MassimilianoFratoni
Business Insider
25-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
The nuke sector has an aging workforce problem. AI could help close that gap, industry experts say.
The nuclear sector is approaching an inflection point where the need for a more reliable energy solution in the next few decades is about to confront an aging workforce that's prime for retirement. A big driver of nuclear demand — that is, artificial intelligence — may also be part of the solution. "I think there's sort of this two-way street on AI and nuclear," Craig Piercy, CEO of American Nuclear Society, told Business Insider. "AI needs nuclear because AI needs energy to run the data centers that run AI. And then AI is going to help nuclear be more efficient." The US has seen a cyclical demand for nuclear power from the 1960s to the present. A 1987 paper published by the International Atomic Energy Agency said that by 1970, about 90 nuclear units across 15 countries went online. However, by the next decade, growth slowed due to increased public resistance to nuclear energy, tighter government regulations, and the high-profile disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. Since then, nuclear power entered a period of inertia, which created a gap between experts with institutional knowledge and the industry's future. The Department of Energy found that 60% of the nuclear energy workforce was between the ages of 30 to 54. The agency said that a significant portion of the workforce is likely to retire over the next decade, which will lead to increased job opportunities in the sector. "The nuclear industry has been stagnant for some time now," Massimiliano Fratoni, chair of the nuclear engineering department at the University of California, Berkeley, told BI. "So a lot of the know-how got lost because people retire, so there is a need to catch up." The energy demand curve Artificial intelligence — and the power-hungry data centers behind the technology — have put nuclear energy back on the map in just the past three years. Big Tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon, which are fueling the AI demand, are investing in newer reactor designs such as small modular reactors (SMRs), driving what BI has called " a nuclear renaissance." Just four SMR companies, for example, have received nearly $3 billion in equity funding, BI previously reported. It's not only AI that's driving the need for a reliable and constant source of energy. Piercy, the American Nuclear Society CEO, said the US's push toward electrification and domestic manufacturing, which has been a top priority for the second Trump administration, will also significantly increase energy demand. "For the last 20 years or so, US electricity demand has essentially been flat. You could draw a straight line from 2007 to 2022," he said, adding that the "demand curve" was at 1% or less. "In the last two years, we're looking now at 2 or 3% energy demand growth over the next 10 years. Everyone's assumptions about how much electricity we're going to need have gone way up." As nuclear is increasingly considered an alternative energy solution, the Department of Energy estimated in 2023 that 375,000 additional workers with technical and non-technical backgrounds, such as construction and manufacturing, would be added to the sector over the next two decades. "I think essentially what we're looking at here is a tripling or more of the workforce by 2050," Piercy said. A digital assistant for nuclear workers At Argonne National Laboratory, a federally funded R&D center located in the suburbs of Lemont, Illinois, the lab's senior nuclear engineer, Richard Vilim, is finding ways to automate some jobs at nuclear plants, which may help with some of the lifting for the incoming workforce demand. "Humans will always be there in the loop," Vilim told BI in an interview. But there are what he called more "prosaic" tasks that could be assigned to a computer and help nuclear plants run more efficiently. "For example, just monitoring if there's anything going wrong. People, humans do that," Vilim said. "Now you can assign that to an algorithm." One automation tool Vilim works with is PRO-AID, or Parameter-Free Reasoning Operator for Automated Identification and Diagnosis. It can be thought of as a digital assistant for monitoring and diagnosing reactors. Vilim said the earliest iterations of PRO-AID were developed around the late 1990s. But over the next few decades, and with the arrival of ChatGPT in 2022, PRO-AID has been updated with a few new tricks, including reasoning abilities. Vilim said that before 2022, PRO-AID would be able to tell an operator or system engineer whether there was a leak or if a particular component went offline. What operators can do now is ask PRO-AID: Why? "So we're now using ChatGPT-type algorithms to go into the inner workings of the model, examine the logic that led to the diagnosis, and compose an answer into human-understandable form," Vilim said. "So not only does the operator learn, 'Oh, there's a leak outside containment,' he or she can query the system and say, 'Well, why do you say that?'" Vilim said that PRO-AID continues to be improved so that the tool churns out answers that are much easier for the human worker to understand. With the tool, Argonne is also figuring out how to develop remote monitoring systems so that a human worker cannot only monitor away from the site, adding to the safety factor, but also monitor multiple systems at once. Vilim roughly estimates that the number of systems one operator could remotely monitor could increase by a factor of 10. Fratoni, the UC Berkeley professor, said the current workforce at power plants is quite large. One of the equations to solve is how to reduce the on-site manpower at a single plant. Could AI meet the gap? "Potentially," he said. "Potentially."
Globe and Mail
01-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
NANO Nuclear Announces Opening Keynote Presentation and Platinum Sponsorship at the Upcoming Reuters Events: SMR & Advanced Reactor 2025 Conference
New York, N.Y., May 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) ('NANO Nuclear' or 'the Company'), a leading advanced nuclear energy and technology company focused on developing clean energy solutions, today announced that it is the Platinum Sponsor of the upcoming Reuters Events: SMR & Advanced Reactor 2025, to be held in Nashville, Tennessee on 12-13, May 2025. NANO Nuclear Energy Chief Executive Officer James Walker will lead the opening keynote presentation titled, 'The Growth of U.S. Advanced Reactors -- Wall Street's Success Story' at 9:00am on May 12 th. In the presentation, he will explore how U.S. policy shifts, global energy demand, and the availability of clean energy focused investment capital are hastening the commercialization of advanced nuclear reactors, including small nuclear reactors (known as SMRs) like those being developed by NANO Nuclear, and how NANO Nuclear capitalized on these trends to become the best performing initial public offering in the U.S. of 2024. 'Reuters Events offer a valuable opportunity to engage with stakeholders and leading innovators in the SMR and advanced reactor field,' said James Walker, Chief Executive Officer of NANO Nuclear. 'I'm excited for NANO Nuclear to be the leading sponsor and to personally participate in this year's conference to discuss NANO Nuclear's journey and mission, and gain insights from the broader community shaping the future of nuclear technology.' Reuters Events: SMR & Advanced Reactor 2025 is the only senior-level meeting point for the SMR community, where 600+ leaders from utilities, financiers, reactor developers, technology providers and regulators unite to create meaningful connections, share trusted insights, and obtain lessons-learned to inform your multi-billion-dollar strategy at pace. 'This conference unites some of the most forward-thinking innovators in the advanced reactor space,' said Professor Massimiliano Fratoni, Senior Director and Head of Reactor Design of NANO Nuclear. 'It's an excellent forum to learn about the direction of the nuclear industry and exchange ideas with those driving progress. I'm looking forward to the informative sessions on offer.' 'NANO Nuclear is executing on schedule, and we expect the next 12 months to include several important regulatory and operational milestones that will help secure our leadership in the U.S. microreactor race,' said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear. 'The achievement of these milestones would be key as we advance toward construction, demonstration, regulatory licensing and eventual commercialization and deployment for our cutting-edge reactors. I look forward to discussing our progress with investors and industry peers at the upcoming Reuters SMR & Advanced Reactor Conference.' A replay of Mr. Walker's presentation if produced by Reuters Events: SMR & Advanced Reactor 2025 will be available on NANO Nuclear's website for at least 30 days following the presentation at About NANO Nuclear Energy, Inc. NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) is an advanced technology-driven nuclear energy company seeking to become a commercially focused, diversified, and vertically integrated company across five business lines: (i) cutting edge portable and other microreactor technologies, (ii) nuclear fuel fabrication, (iii) nuclear fuel transportation, (iv) nuclear applications for space and (v) nuclear industry consulting services. NANO Nuclear believes it is the first portable nuclear microreactor company to be listed publicly in the U.S. Led by a world-class nuclear engineering team, NANO Nuclear's reactor products in development include patented KRONOS MMR ™ Energy System, a stationary high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that is in construction permit pre-application engagement U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in collaboration with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.), 'ZEUS', a solid core battery reactor, and 'ODIN', a low-pressure coolant reactor, and the space focused, portable LOKI MMR ™, each representing advanced developments in clean energy solutions that are portable, on-demand capable, advanced nuclear microreactors. Advanced Fuel Transportation Inc. (AFT), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is led by former executives from the largest transportation company in the world aiming to build a North American transportation company that will provide commercial quantities of HALEU fuel to small modular reactors, microreactor companies, national laboratories, military, and DOE programs. Through NANO Nuclear, AFT is the exclusive licensee of a patented high-capacity HALEU fuel transportation basket developed by three major U.S. national nuclear laboratories and funded by the Department of Energy. Assuming development and commercialization, AFT is expected to form part of the only vertically integrated nuclear fuel business of its kind in North America. HALEU Energy Fuel Inc. (HEF), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is focusing on the future development of a domestic source for a High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel fabrication pipeline for NANO Nuclear's own microreactors as well as the broader advanced nuclear reactor industry. NANO Nuclear Space Inc. (NNS), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is exploring the potential commercial applications of NANO Nuclear's developing micronuclear reactor technology in space. NNS is focusing on applications such as the LOKI MMR ™ system and other power systems for extraterrestrial projects and human sustaining environments, and potentially propulsion technology for long haul space missions. NNS' initial focus will be on cis-lunar applications, referring to uses in the space region extending from Earth to the area surrounding the Moon's surface. For more corporate information please visit: For further NANO Nuclear information, please contact: Email: IR@ Business Tel: (212) 634-9206 PLEASE FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES HERE: NANO Nuclear Energy LINKEDIN NANO Nuclear Energy YOUTUBE NANO Nuclear Energy X PLATFORM Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements This news release, the conference presentation referred to herein, and statements of NANO Nuclear's management in connection with this news release and such presentation contain or may contain 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as 'expects', 'anticipates', 'intends', 'plans', 'believes', 'potential', 'will', 'should', 'could', 'would' or 'may' and other words of similar meaning. In this press release and the related presentation, forward-looking statements may include those related to NANO Nuclear's development, demonstration and regulatory licensing plans and goals, as well as the anticipated future benefits to NANO Nuclear of being a publicly traded company. These and other forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management's current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control. For NANO Nuclear, particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following: (i) risks related to our U.S. Department of Energy ('DOE') or related state or non-U.S. nuclear fuel licensing submissions, (ii) risks related the development of new or advanced technology and the acquisition of complimentary technology or businesses, including difficulties with design and testing, cost overruns, regulatory delays, integration issues and the development of competitive technology, (iii) our ability to obtain contracts and funding to be able to continue operations, (iv) risks related to uncertainty regarding our ability to technologically develop and commercially deploy a competitive advanced nuclear reactor or other technology in the timelines we anticipate, if ever, (v) risks related to the impact of U.S. and non-U.S. government regulation, policies and licensing requirements, including by the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and (vi) similar risks and uncertainties associated with the operating an early stage business a highly regulated and rapidly evolving industry. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement, and NANO Nuclear therefore encourages investors to review other factors that may affect future results in its filings with the SEC, which are available for review at and at Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law.
Associated Press
01-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
NANO Nuclear Announces Opening Keynote Presentation and Platinum Sponsorship at the Upcoming Reuters Events: SMR & Advanced Reactor 2025 Conference
New York, N.Y., May 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) ('NANO Nuclear' or 'the Company'), a leading advanced nuclear energy and technology company focused on developing clean energy solutions, today announced that it is the Platinum Sponsor of the upcoming Reuters Events: SMR & Advanced Reactor 2025, to be held in Nashville, Tennessee on 12-13, May 2025. NANO Nuclear Energy Chief Executive Officer James Walker will lead the opening keynote presentation titled, 'The Growth of U.S. Advanced Reactors -- Wall Street's Success Story' at 9:00am on May 12th. In the presentation, he will explore how U.S. policy shifts, global energy demand, and the availability of clean energy focused investment capital are hastening the commercialization of advanced nuclear reactors, including small nuclear reactors (known as SMRs) like those being developed by NANO Nuclear, and how NANO Nuclear capitalized on these trends to become the best performing initial public offering in the U.S. of 2024. 'Reuters Events offer a valuable opportunity to engage with stakeholders and leading innovators in the SMR and advanced reactor field,' said James Walker, Chief Executive Officer of NANO Nuclear. 'I'm excited for NANO Nuclear to be the leading sponsor and to personally participate in this year's conference to discuss NANO Nuclear's journey and mission, and gain insights from the broader community shaping the future of nuclear technology.' Reuters Events: SMR & Advanced Reactor 2025 is the only senior-level meeting point for the SMR community, where 600+ leaders from utilities, financiers, reactor developers, technology providers and regulators unite to create meaningful connections, share trusted insights, and obtain lessons-learned to inform your multi-billion-dollar strategy at pace. 'This conference unites some of the most forward-thinking innovators in the advanced reactor space,' said Professor Massimiliano Fratoni, Senior Director and Head of Reactor Design of NANO Nuclear. 'It's an excellent forum to learn about the direction of the nuclear industry and exchange ideas with those driving progress. I'm looking forward to the informative sessions on offer.' 'NANO Nuclear is executing on schedule, and we expect the next 12 months to include several important regulatory and operational milestones that will help secure our leadership in the U.S. microreactor race,' said Jay Yu, Founder and Chairman of NANO Nuclear. 'The achievement of these milestones would be key as we advance toward construction, demonstration, regulatory licensing and eventual commercialization and deployment for our cutting-edge reactors. I look forward to discussing our progress with investors and industry peers at the upcoming Reuters SMR & Advanced Reactor Conference.' A replay of Mr. Walker's presentation if produced by Reuters Events: SMR & Advanced Reactor 2025 will be available on NANO Nuclear's website for at least 30 days following the presentation at About NANO Nuclear Energy, Inc. NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: NNE) is an advanced technology-driven nuclear energy company seeking to become a commercially focused, diversified, and vertically integrated company across five business lines: (i) cutting edge portable and other microreactor technologies, (ii) nuclear fuel fabrication, (iii) nuclear fuel transportation, (iv) nuclear applications for space and (v) nuclear industry consulting services. NANO Nuclear believes it is the first portable nuclear microreactor company to be listed publicly in the U.S. Led by a world-class nuclear engineering team, NANO Nuclear's reactor products in development include patented KRONOS MMR™ Energy System, a stationary high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that is in construction permit pre-application engagement U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in collaboration with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.), 'ZEUS', a solid core battery reactor, and 'ODIN', a low-pressure coolant reactor, and the space focused, portable LOKI MMR™, each representing advanced developments in clean energy solutions that are portable, on-demand capable, advanced nuclear microreactors. Advanced Fuel Transportation Inc. (AFT), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is led by former executives from the largest transportation company in the world aiming to build a North American transportation company that will provide commercial quantities of HALEU fuel to small modular reactors, microreactor companies, national laboratories, military, and DOE programs. Through NANO Nuclear, AFT is the exclusive licensee of a patented high-capacity HALEU fuel transportation basket developed by three major U.S. national nuclear laboratories and funded by the Department of Energy. Assuming development and commercialization, AFT is expected to form part of the only vertically integrated nuclear fuel business of its kind in North America. HALEU Energy Fuel Inc. (HEF), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is focusing on the future development of a domestic source for a High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel fabrication pipeline for NANO Nuclear's own microreactors as well as the broader advanced nuclear reactor industry. NANO Nuclear Space Inc. (NNS), a NANO Nuclear subsidiary, is exploring the potential commercial applications of NANO Nuclear's developing micronuclear reactor technology in space. NNS is focusing on applications such as the LOKI MMR™ system and other power systems for extraterrestrial projects and human sustaining environments, and potentially propulsion technology for long haul space missions. NNS' initial focus will be on cis-lunar applications, referring to uses in the space region extending from Earth to the area surrounding the Moon's surface. For more corporate information please visit: For further NANO Nuclear information, please contact: Email: [email protected] Business Tel: (212) 634-9206 PLEASE FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES HERE: NANO Nuclear Energy LINKEDIN NANO Nuclear Energy YOUTUBE NANO Nuclear Energy X PLATFORM Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements This news release, the conference presentation referred to herein, and statements of NANO Nuclear's management in connection with this news release and such presentation contain or may contain 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as 'expects', 'anticipates', 'intends', 'plans', 'believes', 'potential', 'will', 'should', 'could', 'would' or 'may' and other words of similar meaning. In this press release and the related presentation, forward-looking statements may include those related to NANO Nuclear's development, demonstration and regulatory licensing plans and goals, as well as the anticipated future benefits to NANO Nuclear of being a publicly traded company. These and other forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management's current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control. For NANO Nuclear, particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following: (i) risks related to our U.S. Department of Energy ('DOE') or related state or non-U.S. nuclear fuel licensing submissions, (ii) risks related the development of new or advanced technology and the acquisition of complimentary technology or businesses, including difficulties with design and testing, cost overruns, regulatory delays, integration issues and the development of competitive technology, (iii) our ability to obtain contracts and funding to be able to continue operations, (iv) risks related to uncertainty regarding our ability to technologically develop and commercially deploy a competitive advanced nuclear reactor or other technology in the timelines we anticipate, if ever, (v) risks related to the impact of U.S. and non-U.S. government regulation, policies and licensing requirements, including by the DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and (vi) similar risks and uncertainties associated with the operating an early stage business a highly regulated and rapidly evolving industry. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement, and NANO Nuclear therefore encourages investors to review other factors that may affect future results in its filings with the SEC, which are available for review at and at Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law. Attachment
