38 min listen
Jim McNiel | Our fusion powered future
FromClimate Positive
ratings:
Length:
45 minutes
Released:
Aug 31, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
For decades, many have called nuclear fusion the “holy grail” of energy sources. The undying hope is that fusion will someday provide very cheap, abundant, zero-carbon electricity to all – thereby both decisively addressing the climate crisis and powering economic growth across the globe. But despite decades of well-funded research and even recent technological breakthroughs, we still seem to be years away from a commercially viable fusion reactor. In this episode, Chad Reed speaks with Jim McNiel, Chief Marketing Officer of TAE Technologies, which just raised $250 million in venture financing to support the development of Copernicus – its next-generation hydrogen-boron fusion research reactor. Chad and Jim get into the weeds on the tradeoffs of competing fusion fuels, the longstanding challenge fusion must overcome to reach commercial viability, the role of fusion in our energy future, Star Trek versus Star Wars, and much more.Links:Article: TAE Technologies Exceeds Fusion Reactor Performance Goals By 250% As Company Closes $250 Million Financing Round, Totaling $1.2 Billion To Date (July 2022)Article: Nuclear-fusion reactor smashes energy record (Nature, February 2, 2022)Article: ITER fusion project preparing to outline revised timetable (World Nuclear News, July 11, 2022)Episode recorded: July 28, 2022Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.
Released:
Aug 31, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (74)
Donnel Baird | Making buildings greener, healthier, and smarter for all: Leading analysts estimate that more than 7% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are generated by small-to-medium buildings. Too often, these buildings are terribly inefficient—wasting as much as 50% of the energy they consume, which significantly drives up energy bills—and unhealthy—with deadly viruses and other toxins circulating freely. What’s more, many of these buildings primarily serve low-to-moderate income Americans, who often lack the upfront capital needed for proven upgrades. In part driven by his childhood experience with energy poverty and the related localized pollution, Donnel Baird founded BlocPower seven years ago to ensure that everyone, especially those with lower incomes and/or from other disadvantaged backgrounds, has access to greener, healthier, smarter, and more cost-effective homes and buildings. To date, BlocPower has helped to identify, finance, and upgrade more than 1,200 buildings—many i by Climate Positive