In this episode of our Venture Capital Horizon series with Heath Terry of Goldman Sachs Research, we dive into clean energy and advances in nuclear power technology.
While nuclear energy has been around for quite some time, it’s had a complicated history. On the one hand, it’s a true zero-carbon energy solution, but concerns around reactor safety as well as reactor waste has slowed—and in some cases, reversed—its adoption. That doesn’t mean, however, that innovation in nuclear power has stalled. Terry and his team have been following some of the smartest venture investing in this space, and that has led them to Oklo, an early advanced-fission company developing small-scale nuclear power plants. Terry spoke to Oklo’s co-founder, Jacob DeWitte, to learn more about how the company is approaching nuclear power sustainably. “We think going smaller and simplifying things is really one of the key factors here to realizing the promise that we have in the atom,” says DeWitte. “The need for power is only going to increase across the world—especially when you think about the fact that there’s about a billion people who don’t really have access,” he says. “Fission is going to have to be one of the heavy lifters here.”
This podcast was released on May 27, 2020.
This podcast should not be copied, distributed, published or reproduced, in whole or in part. The information contained in this recording was obtained from publicly available sources, has not been independently verified by Goldman Sachs, may not be current, and Goldman Sachs has no obligation to provide any updates or changes. All price references and market forecasts are as of the date of recording. This podcast is not a product of Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research and the information contained in this podcast is not financial research. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are not necessarily those of Goldman Sachs and may differ from the views and opinions of other departments or divisions of Goldman Sachs and its affiliates. Goldman Sachs is not providing any financial, economic, legal, accounting, or tax advice or recommendations in this podcast. The information contained in this podcast does not constitute investment advice or an offer to buy or sell securities from any Goldman Sachs entity to the listener and should not be relied upon to evaluate any potential transaction. In addition, the receipt of this podcast by any listener is not to be taken to constitute such person a client of any Goldman Sachs entity. Neither Goldman Sachs nor any of its affiliates makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the statements or any information contained in this podcast and any liability therefore (including in respect of direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage) is expressly disclaimed.
