First Place : Nucleus

Caroline Seyffert, Lewis Handy-Cardenas, Madeleine Lewis, Susannah Lea, Alessandra Totaro Villar

Nucleus is an innovative new contracting company integrating powerful nuclear microreactor technology to fuel the workforce in growing areas of demand—from manufacturing and construction to the clean energy transition. Our team of engineering and policy experts will mobilize and operate rapidly dispatchable carbon-free workforce housing and accessory power sources for industrial projects of all sizes and duration.

Our business aims to provide logistics services in the form of temporary housing, connected to a microreactor for electricity and heat. Excess heat can also be harnessed for energy intensive operations, such as hydrogen production and desalination.

NucleEd Academy

John Mobley IV, Xuxheng Zhao, Aronne Travaglia

The NucleED Academy is an intermediary academia-government-industry educational institution that offers microcredentials, addressing three pressing challenges in the nuclear sector: (1) limited capacity in traditional academic offerings, (2) a formidable workforce demand in the coming decades, and (3) a nuclear education space in flux. Through the facilitation of two distinct micro-credential categories (i.e., MOOCs and in-person trades), we can address the current educational barriers that exist with the nuclear sector, upskill/reskill individuals, and create the next generation of workers. While the initial facility investment is high, the overwhelming workforce imperative makes these certifications a boon for investment—even through a conservative fiscal lens.

MIRROR

Jack Lanza, Samuel Garcia, Umar Farouk Ahmad, Knight Yeboah, Gengchen Li

MIxed Reality Radiation Observation in near Realtime, or MIRROR, is a radiation detection equipment-application coupled product that displays radiation particles over a screen to intuitively help the user localize the radiation source. This is accomplished by utilizing a demonstrated detection technology consisting of Silicon Carbide pad detectors placed in an array, indicating radiation pathing and absorbed biological dose, and processing that data to visualize the source in the user’s phone or tablet. The value of this product is that it simplifies the radiation detection procedure to localize sources, a valuable capability for nuclear facilities, hospitals, national security, etc. The product comprises a vest and application that are a one-time purchase and annually licensed, respectively.

ClearCore

Iva Reckling, Alice Ding, Saskia van Nieustadt, Camila Boix, Jenifer Avellaneda, Jasmine Mund

By empowering nuclear companies to confidently navigate the intricate landscape of nuclear facility siting and permitting, Clear Core is dedicated to propelling a global shift towards clean, carbon-free energy. Siting a nuclear facility requires a significant understanding of regulations at different levels of government. This makes the siting and permitting process complex, time-intensive, and expensive. While certain tools exist for accessing specific permitting information, these solutions are not comprehensive. Clear Core aims to simplify nuclear facility siting through comprehensive data integration and user-centered technology. By using our software, nuclear companies, law firms, and educational institutions will attain an unparalleled advantage in understanding, comparing, and confidently managing the complex siting and permitting requirements for any location. Ultimately, Clear Core reduces the time nuclear companies spend siting a reactor or facility. By facilitating efficient siting and permitting processes, a $1.1 million USD investment in Clear Core will help bring more carbon-free energy to the grid.

Gengi Onsen

Malik Oliver, Tsendsuren Amarjargal, Yang Zhang

The Genji Onsen will be a spa that utilizes thermal discharge from a nuclear power plant to provide heated water to a spa facility. Onsen is essentially hot water or Japanese hot springs. These hot springs have existed in Japanese culture for hundreds of years and were popular due to the belief in the physical and mental benefits. The Japanese believe that Onsen hot springs cleanse the body and the soul. Though rooted in ancient history, Onsen remains an essential part of Japanese culture today.

In addition to wellness services such as the onsen and the spa, this facility will feature an area with educational displays for nuclear energy. The goal of this project will be to provide a facility where people can relax, experience spa and Japanese culture and build ties between the community and their nuclear power providers. This 8000 sq ft facility will primarily be an onsen but will feature ten bedrooms for overnight guests and spa facilities for an additional charge. 

This business will enter into the global wellness economy, an over 4.4 trillion-dollar economy, at a time when travel tourism and hot springs are the two fastest-growing areas. Using conservative approximations for lodging occupancy, spa usage, and onsen usage, as well as over-estimating predicted construction costs, we expect that this business will be net positive after being in operation for four years.

Perses

Marley Ottman, Emile Germonpre, Nicholas Mecham

The nuclear energy industry is notorious for overrunning cost estimates, and decommissioning is no exception. Given the age of the United States’ current reactor fleet, a solution must be found before a wave of reactors come off the grid. Specifically designed to address several decommissioning cost drivers as identified by the NEA, Perses offers a range of services to operators working to decommission their site’s. Our objective is to generate foundationally strong plans and estimates using our multidimensional planning approach, Virtually Integrated Execution Planning. This approach creates a site model with a 4D scheduler along with radiation mapping and financial information overlain. This high-fidelity model is imperative to define both the scope of decommissioning and project boundaries for our subsequent cost estimates. A good model can prevent costly changes in scope, streamline waste characterization, and fit into a larger database which our company can leverage more over time.

PHoEnix

Caleb Rogers, Hannah Harris, Juzel Lloyd, Saleem Al Dajani

PHoEniX efficiently enriches uranium using commercial lasers to secure the nuclear fuel supply for High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) in the United States towards production diversification and carbon neutrality.