Nuclear power's future is being disrupted. Investor interest in small
modular reactors is growing as demand for electricity is set to soar. Last
month Sam Altman, the (in)famous founder of OpenAI, posted a picture on
social media of an elegant A-frame wooden building in a verdant tropical
setting. It looks like a billionaire's weekend pad. However, what the
image actually depicts is the putative design of a small modular (nuclear)
reactor invented by Oklo, a company that Altman has chaired since 2015.
And it was posted because Oklo has just merged with a special purpose
acquisition company created by Altman and Michael Klein, the Wall Street
dealmaker, valuing it at $850mn. That will make some observers wince. The
acronym "Spac" became toxic two years ago because the concept was badly
abused during the last credit bubble. Adding "nuclear" into the mix
risks making it doubly radioactive, in the public mind, given past
accidents at the Chernobyl and Fukushima plants (and current Russian
threats to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia plant).
Nevertheless, investors and
policymakers should pay attention. On Thursday the United States Air Force
announced plans to use Oklo's reactor for the Eielson Air Force Base in
Alaska — seemingly the first potential use of commercial SMRs by the
Federal Government on American soil. .......................
FT 31st Aug 2023
https://www.ft.com/content/0faade4f-d239-47ed-a041-f7a503fef500
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