Today's episode explores three ideas that caught my attention:

* Commonality is the Way - Variance in design increases cost. Consistency in design reduces it. Tighe shared helpful parallels with other industries to highlight the point that the industry is beginning to benefit from some economies of repetition, and this pattern is increasing the speed and cost efficiencies afforded.

* The fusion funding paradox - Tighe pointed out fusion attracts outsized investment compared to fission, yet has never demonstrated ability to build actual power plants. Hmm.

* Forever chemicals vs. manageable radiation - Tighe's contrast between undetectable forever chemicals and easily detected radiation with definite half-lives challenged my thinking about which environmental threats deserve more concern.

I explore these ideas and more with Tighe Smith, Chief Nuclear Officer at Paragon Energy Solutions.

Tighe Smith brings over two decades of specialized experience as a nuclear engineer and executive leader in the nuclear power industry. As Chief Nuclear Officer at Paragon Energy Solutions, he leads the Digital I&C and Advanced Reactor Business Divisions, developing solutions for both existing and next-generation reactors. His unique perspective bridges technical engineering excellence with strategic business insight, reinforced by his active roles in the American Nuclear Society's Nuclear Policy Leadership team and as Sub-Committee Chair for the Texas Advanced Nuclear Working Group.

During our conversation, Tighe shares:

* A contrarian perspective on the nuclear supply chain as an overlooked investment opportunity - highlighting the ecosystem of component and service providers between giant utilities and reactor startups.

* Why factory-built standardization represents a paradigm shift for nuclear economics - drawing compelling parallels to aircraft manufacturing that illustrate how nuclear can achieve the speed advantages of natural gas plants.

* A pragmatic comparison of nuclear and fusion timelines for climate impact that challenges the disproportionate investment flowing to fusion despite its longer horizon for commercial viability.

What We Cover:

* 00:00 Introduction

* 02:40 Nuclear Energy Ecosystem

* 03:15 The First Renaissance of Nuclear

Know someone who would enjoy this episode? Share it with them!

P.S. Your feedback is important to me. Also, it tells the algorithms to pay more attention, which helps me out a lot. If you enjoyed this episode, hit the "like" button or leave a comment with your thoughts.

Want more?

• Get essential angel intel straight to your inbox every week with The Diligent Observer Newsletter.
• Check out the entire show library and follow via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Connect with Andrew

LinkedIn | X | Angel Ops E-Book

All opinions are personal and may not reflect the views of The Diligent Observer. Not investment advice.