Fire2Fission Podcast

About Fire2Fission Podcast

A podcast about energy dense fuels like oil, gas, and nuclear energy and how they better human lives.

Publisher

Mark Hinaman

Category

technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 May 2023

Latest episode

10 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

89 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Sept 2026

   087 Grace Vanderhei, Nuclear Engineer and Public Speaker

   What does it actually take to build the next generation of nuclear? Grace Vanderhei is a nuclear fuels engineer and clean energy advocate at Constellation, where she is working on the restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1, now the Christopher Crane Clean Energy Center. She joins Mark Hinaman for a conversation that moves from the technical realities of restarting a nuclear plant to the people, processes, and public trust needed to build the industry back up. Grace explains what nuclear fuel engineering actually looks like day to day, from core design and reloads to the unusual challenges of putting an all-fresh-fuel core into a reactor that has been shut down for years. She shares lessons from the Crane restart, including how the industry is drawing on experience from Vogtle 3 & 4, and why good documentation becomes incredibly important when decades of plant-specific knowledge can disappear. The conversation also explores the less technical side of nuclear: communicating with the public, working with regulators, recruiting the next generation, and making space for people who don't fit the traditional image of a nuclear engineer. Grace shares her own experience being told she shouldn't become an engineer, why resilience matters more than having a perfect résumé, and why she believes the best way to bring young people into STEM is to start with their mission and help them find the passion that supports it. Finally, Grace looks ahead at what she hopes the nuclear industry accomplishes over the next 10–30 years—from extending and improving the existing fleet to deploying advanced reactors and ultimately doubling US nuclear generation. Her message is straightforward: the industry can build nuclear successfully, but it needs to demonstrate a pattern of projects delivered on time and on budget and rebuild public trust along the way.

2. 

   31 Aug 2026

   086 David Ramsden-Wood, Engineer and Energy Thinker

   In our latest episode, host Mark Hinaman sits down with David Ramsden Wood (DRW) — engineer, operator, investor, writer, and longtime energy thinker — for a wide-ranging conversation about where energy opportunities actually come from. From the shale revolution and overlooked basins to nuclear, natural gas, data centers, and AI, DRW brings a practical perspective shaped by decades of watching capital flow into—and sometimes destroy value in—the energy industry. The discussion explores: 🛢️ Why overdrilling, overcapitalization, and chasing growth can destroy otherwise great energy assets 🗺️ How DRW identified overlooked opportunities in places like Fort Berthold, New Mexico, and the DJ Basin before the market caught on 💰 Why capital discipline and free cash flow matter more than hype ⚛️ What the nuclear buildout and data center boom can learn from the mistakes of oil and gas 🔥 Where natural gas fits as demand for electricity continues to grow 🚗 What EVs, autonomous vehicles, and changing oil demand could mean for the energy markets The common thread is simple: the best opportunities aren't always the obvious ones. Finding them requires understanding the asset, the market, the incentives, and—perhaps most importantly—when to act. Host: Mark Hinaman Producer: Cameron Cruickshank #Energy #OilAndGas #NuclearEnergy #NaturalGas #EnergyMarkets #EnergyInvesting #CapitalAllocation #DataCenters #AI #EnergyInfrastructure #Shale #EnergyTransition #EnergySecurity #Fire2Fission

3. 

   14 Aug 2026

   085 Nick Smith, Raven-Flint

   The nuclear bottleneck most people ignore is already here - and it could decide which reactors actually get built. Nick Smith, co-founder and CEO of RavenFlint Nuclear, explains why the real shortage is not just reactors, but the upstream chemistry that turns uranium into usable fuel.Mark Hinaman presses Nick on the overlooked step between the mine and enrichment, and Nick lays out the case for why uranium conversion has become one of the most urgent supply chain problems in advanced nuclear. If you care about reactor deployment, fuel availability, domestic energy security, or the economics of nuclear scale-up, this conversation shows exactly where the industry is getting stuck.You’ll discover: Why uranium conversion is the “boring” chemical process that quietly powers the entire fuel cycle How Nick went from electrical engineering and utility power quality to advanced nuclear R&D, INL, and finally launching RavenFlint Why RavenFlint is betting on a modern conversion process built to replace a plant that dates back to 1958 How the company is thinking about trade secrets, patents, and the brutal realities of working with HF and fluorine chemistry What “Match, Torch, Forge” means for the path from lab scale to pilot plant to commercial production Nick also breaks down why today’s conversion market is tight, why secondary supplies have been exhausted, and why advanced reactor developers cannot afford to ignore this bottleneck if they want fuel on a realistic timeline. Along the way, he shares the origin of the RavenFlint name, the team’s garage-chemistry beginnings, and what it takes to build a serious radiological chemistry operation from the ground up.This episode is especially relevant if you’re following advanced nuclear, fuel cycle infrastructure, clean energy investing, or the gritty reality of how nuclear supply chains actually work. It is a rare look at the part of the industry that is usually left behind the curtain - but may end up being one of the most important businesses in the whole sector.Perfect for nuclear wonks, energy investors, advanced reactor followers, and anyone who wants to understand where the next real bottleneck - and opportunity - lives.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Contact Fire2Fission Podcast

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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