2023 : Japan, Tokyo

This was the 6th edition of the Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp! We strive to make Bootcamp better every year, and this year was special because the 2023 cohort was the most diverse yet, with 16 countries represented (two more than when we did it in France in 2019), 45% women representation, and 62% racial/ethnic minority representation. In addition to that, it was also the first Bootcamp to be hosted in Asia – in Tokyo, Japan, in partnership with the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the Nuclear Innovator Cultivation Program (NICP). The structure of the Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp is based each year on a 2-week intensive seminar-style workshop combined with group projects.

Participants take courses in a wide range of topics in the mornings and work together on team design projects in the afternoons that are pitched to a panel of expert judges on the last day.

The three main objectives of the Bootcamp are:

Create an environment where participants can meet, develop connections, interact, spark their innovative ideas and build for the future.

Give these bright minds all the tools to be advocates of nuclear energy in the future, preparing them to interact with their friends, family and colleagues to tell the real facts about climate change and the place of nuclear energy in the energy mix.

Enable the participants to be agents of change, implementing innovative and efficient ideas in their careers.

NIB 2023 Schedule

NIB presenters and judges are leaders from throughout the nuclear energy sphere and related climate and energy communities and industries who expose our young and talented participants to the cross-cutting needs of clean energy development in the 21st century.

Presenters + Judges

NIB presenters and judges are leaders from throughout the nuclear energy sphere and related climate and energy communities and industries who expose our young and talented participants to the cross-cutting needs of clean energy development in the 21st century.

Judi Greenwald 

Elizabeth Helvey 

Ken Kahn

Tatsuya Katabuchi

Satoru Kamohara

Hideki Kamide

Kazuhito Asano

Adrien Couet

Leslie Dewan

Gen Endo

Teruki Fukumatsu

Braden Goddard

Thomas Rusert

Mitsuru Uesaka

Michael Short

Hidemasa Yamano

Rachel Slaybaugh

Yasuhiro Yuguchi

Hideharu Takahashi

Matthew Thompson

Takehiko Tsukahara

Kuniaki Kawabata

Lenka Kollar

Christine King

Kazuaki Kito

Yoshikazu Koma

Shinichi Koyama

Naoto Iizuka

Rudy Murgo

Toru Obara

Hirofumi Okada

Naoaki Okuzumi

Satoshi Okada

Gengchen Li

Nicholas Mecham

Knight Yeboah

Participants

Past participants have leveraged their Bootcamp experience to make an impact within various sectors, including industry, academia, and government. Some have even gone on to secure their own funding and founded companies based on the ventures they started at the Bootcamp.

For this year’s Bootcamp, out of a record-breaking 108 applications received, 29 participants were selected, including students and early career professionals from all over the world and from a variety of backgrounds. 

Team Design Projects :

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.

Mentors

Many thanks to the NIB2023 Cohort Mentors!

 Toru Obara

Tara Righetti

Michael Short 

Patrick White

We are specifically looking for experts in startups, business, nuclear technology, and innovation. We are also open to those outside of these spaces, as we believe that diverse backgrounds only enrich our participants’ experience further.

Continuous Mentors  have the larger commitment. These mentors are available on-site as a resource throughout the program for a specific team. One or two mentors will work with each team to provide consistency, perspective, and guidance over the full program. As a Continuous Mentor you will have the ability to set limited hours of interaction, but we expect this to be a more engaged experience lasting the duration of the bootcamp. Past participants consider their Continuous Mentors as one of the most useful resources throughout the program and some groups have continued working with them after the Bootcamp has ended.

Spot Mentors are virtually available to one or several teams to provide feedback on a specific issue. If you have narrow expertise or are only available for a portion of the program, we recommend becoming a Spot Mentor. We expect this participation to be largely virtual and you are free to set the parameters of availability and interaction. For example, you can choose the mode of communication you prefer and provide a set number of hours throughout the week that you are available. Please remember to keep time zones in mind! 

If you have questions or interested in applying to become a mentor,

The Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, housed within the Nuclear Innovation Alliance.  From the beginning, the Bootcamp has been committed to removing barriers to participation and nurturing a diverse mix of participants and a wide range of new ideas. To do this, NIB keeps costs very low for participants by funding lodging, meals, necessary supplies, onsite transportation, and networking events throughout our 2-week program, with 100% support from our Sponsors.  

A special thanks to our sponsors for NIB2023, with their support we were able to fulfill our no-barriers commitment along with the ability to provide travel scholarships for 52% of the 2023 cohort.

Various levels of support are also offered to our presenters. 

Becoming a sponsor of the Bootcamp will link your organization to the only international educational event that trains tomorrow’s nuclear innovators. As a sponsor, your branding will reach our Bootcamp participants, students and nuclear engineers at host institutions, and presenters and mentors. This is the perfect way to reach high-quality potential employees and a community leading the way in clean energy.

Check out the multiple opportunities to become a sponsor on our website.

Sponsors

If you would like to become a Sponsor for current/future Bootcamps