Person
1 episodes · 22 quoted claims
The US Congress passed a ban on imports of Russian uranium in mid-2024, taking effect on January 1, 2028, with imports continuing under a waiver until then.
“Congress passed a ban on imports of Russian uranium. That ban goes into effect January 1, 2028. Right now, they're still importing under a waiver.”
The US gets about a quarter of its enriched uranium from Russia, with imports set to continue until 2028.
“So in the U .S., we get about a quarter from Russia, still imported. That's going to keep going until 2028.”
Most reactors on the US grid use uranium enriched to 3% to 5%, while advanced reactors use fuel enriched to just under 20%.
“Most of the reactors in the grid today, they go at 3 % to 5%.”
Nuclear fuel production has five steps: mining uranium, converting it to gas, enriching it, converting it back to solid, and making fuel pellets.
“you then separate the gas to enrich it, meaning get more density of U-235, the fissile material. You then turn it back into a solid and then you make your fuel pellets.”
Nolan says most uranium supplied to the US comes from Kazakhstan and Canada.
“Most of U .S. supply will come from Kazakhstan and Canada.”
Nolan says about 20% of the cost overruns at the Vogtle nuclear plant were due to interest payments.
“20 % of Vogel's cost overruns were interest rate overruns, interest payment overruns.”
Nolan says US mortgage interest rates peaked around 18% in 1981, which he argues made financing large nuclear projects very difficult.
“you had interest rates that peaked, I think, in 1981 on mortgages, like 18 % mortgages at that point.”
Nolan says the Biden administration aimed to triple US nuclear production by 2050 and the Trump administration wants to quadruple it.
“the Biden administration went into triple nuclear production in the U .S. by 2050. The Trump administration wants to quadruple it.”
Nolan says submarine reactors run on uranium enriched above 90% because refuelling requires cutting the submarine open.
“Submarines care even more about refueling cycles. So when you refill a submarine, you have to cut it open and remove the reactor.”
General Matter is building its enrichment facility in Paducah, Kentucky.
“The facility that we're building is in Paducah, Kentucky, so Western Kentucky.”
General Matter's site search took over a year and covered more than 10 states and over 1,000 plots of land before choosing Paducah.
“We went to over 10 states, looked at over 1 ,000 plots of land.”
General Matter was down-selected under the Biden administration and awarded $900 million under the Trump administration for building capacity.
“We were down selected under the Biden administration, awarded under the Trump administration earlier this year for a $900 million award for capacity building”
Natural uranium contains about 0.711% uranium-235, the fissile isotope, with the rest mostly uranium-238.
“So uranium out of the ground is 0 .7%, 0 .711 % U235. That's what you want.”
After the Cold War, the US imported blended-down Russian warheads to fuel its reactors under a deal nicknamed Megatons to Megawatts.
“It was nicknamed megatons to megawatts. So we imported Russian warheads, blended them down, ran our reactors on it”
Nolan says the US once supplied over 90% of global enrichment using a first-generation technology that proved uncompetitive with European and Russian methods.
“We were over 90 % of supply globally. And ultimately that approach, that specific design and technology, was not cost competitive”
Nolan says for some small modular reactors, enrichment-related fuel cost could be up to 50% of total levelized cost of energy.
“at today's market prices, it can be.”
Scott Nolan joined SpaceX as an intern in 2003, worked on Merlin engine components and Dragon, and left in 2007.
“SpaceX, when I started, I was just an intern in 2003.”
General Matter uses an in-house engineering, procurement and construction team, copying a Tesla approach, rather than outsourcing construction.
“we copied the Tesla playbook of build your own in-house construction EPC team.”
General Matter submitted its license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shortly before the interview.
“We just submitted our NRC license last week.”
Nolan says the incumbent enrichers are Russia, China and two European firms using the same underlying technology, with no clean-sheet redesign in decades.
“the last time anyone's done a clean sheet redesign was decades ago.”
Nolan interned at Boeing on a cost-plus military program before SpaceX.
“before SpaceX, I did work at one of the aerospace incumbents as an intern. Which one? Boeing.”
General Matter has not yet disclosed which enrichment technique it will use and plans to reveal it in the first half of the following year.
“our technique is one that we'll unveil first half of next year when we'll talk about it.”