00:00As demand for reliable, scalable, clean energy surges, we're joined by a leader who's reimagining how nuclear power can be
00:08built, deployed and even delivered.
00:10Liz Muller is the co-founder and CEO of Deep Vision. Thank you so much for being here today, Liz.
00:16Yeah, Justine, I'm really happy.
00:17We really appreciate it. Yeah, we're so yeah, we're so excited to talk to you.
00:22This is such a topic kind of at the top of mind for everyone really who's thinking about what is
00:26next for energy.
00:27So for viewers who may not really know a lot about Deep Vision and the entire vision process in general,
00:34give us a little bit of an overview of the company, the mission and what you guys are doing.
00:38Yeah, great. So nuclear power has been around for a long time and it's generating about 20 percent of the
00:44United States electricity today.
00:46But the challenge has been moving forward. Nuclear has been too slow to build and it's been too expensive.
00:52So there's a bunch of advanced nuclear companies that are looking to change that, to be able to build faster
00:58and to be able to do it less, less costly.
01:02What Deep Vision is doing is we're taking that same nuclear technology, but burying it a mile underground.
01:08And by leveraging the natural properties of the rock and the pressure of the water above us,
01:14we're able to cut costs and we target being able to build this much,
01:18much faster with our first reactor targeting next year.
01:21Yeah, that's just fascinating to think how you can use the actual ground and all of the properties that just
01:26naturally come with it
01:27to completely scale this in a different way that hasn't been seen before.
01:31And you also recently made your NASDAQ debut.
01:34So tell us about this milestone, what it means for the company and also what it means now as to
01:38be the only female founder and CEO of a publicly traded nuclear company.
01:43Yeah, thank you. So, yeah, we're on the NASDAQ now.
01:46So our ticker symbol is FISM. And over the past year, we've raised one hundred and fifty million dollars.
01:51So this is what we need in order to hit our next set of milestones.
01:55And we are working towards building that first reactor in 2027.
02:00So we're able to do this under the Department of Energy reactor pilot program.
02:04And it's all it's a very exciting time to be in the nuclear business.
02:08I do think it's interesting that I am the only female founder and CEO of a publicly traded nuclear company.
02:15But I hope that we'll see a lot more female founders and female CEOs in the years to come.
02:20Definitely. And it's so incredible that you actually co-founded the company with your father.
02:24I find those relationships when people work with people that they're close with from birth.
02:28In this case, it really creates a whole other dynamic that can be so beneficial to a company.
02:33So tell us a little bit about what that partnership has been like and how it's really shaped the company's
02:37vision.
02:38Yeah, I mean, it's really good. So he and I have been working together for about 20 years.
02:42This is the third company that we founded together.
02:45And he is a nuclear physicist, a real technical guy, inventor, MacArthur genius, sort of all the things that you
02:52want your CTO to be.
02:54Whereas I have the business strategy and the business background and the vision for how we can develop the company
02:59and deploy our reactors and then scale.
03:02So the two of us work really, really well together with different areas of expertise.
03:08Yeah, it seems like that's such complementary skill sets that can really come together to propel the company forward.
03:14In thinking about what Deep Vision is doing, kind of placing these small modular reactors one mile underground, as you
03:21were saying,
03:21how does this design really change the economics and also the safety of nuclear power?
03:26Because a lot of people hear nuclear and they think back to catastrophes from the past.
03:30So how does this really change that and maybe put people at ease with nuclear moving forward?
03:35Yeah. So nuclear power is already today one of the safest sources of electricity generation that we have.
03:41So it's really right there with wind and solar and modern nuclear technology is extremely safe.
03:48But when you're building it above ground, you do need a lot of construction to protect humans and the environment
03:54and make sure that nothing gets out.
03:55But when you're building it a mile underground, that protection is built in.
04:00So you're surrounded by billions of tons of rock.
04:03That means that nothing is going to be able to get out and impact humans, the environment, the water table.
04:08You're a mile below the water table.
04:10And then you can also leverage the gravity of the water that's above you.
04:14So you don't need to build a lot of the moving parts, the pressurizer and the various different systems that
04:20you would need for above ground nuclear.
04:22So that's the reason that we can be potentially much cheaper and much faster to build.
04:27Yeah, it seems like that reducing those building costs can really change the game in this entire process and this
04:34entire kind of sector of energy production.
04:36Tell us a little bit more about the Department of Energy's reactor pilot program in Kansas.
04:41So what is that and how are you guys kind of working within that context?
04:45Yeah, the Department of Energy has created this reactor pilot program and there are 10 companies that are participating in
04:51it
04:51to be able to build a reactor faster than you usually would be able to do.
04:57So we are one of the companies that's participating in this.
04:59Our site is in Parsons, Kansas, where we have been very excited to partner with the local community.
05:05And we are looking to deploy this first reactor next year.
05:09Now, we are intending that first reactor to be the same as our commercial reactor.
05:15So the expectation is we'll be able to start generating electrons and put them onto the grid targeting the end
05:22of next year or early 2028.
05:25I mean, it's just so exciting to think about all of the different things that are coming down the pipeline
05:29for you.
05:30What have been some of the biggest challenges in bringing new nuclear technology from concept to a publicly traded company?
05:35And now that you have this extra capital into the next phase?
05:39Yeah, I would say that, you know, we are changing the way that we think about nuclear.
05:44So historically, the process for building nuclear was very slow.
05:50I mean, that's part of the challenge and part of the reason that we don't have a lot more new
05:53nuclear plants right now.
05:55But the Department of Energy reactor pilot program is compressing that.
05:58So we're still doing all of the same things that we would need to do for a reactor.
06:02But we're doing it in a much shorter time frame, which is why the going public was really important for
06:09deep vision.
06:10That enables us to do much of this work in parallel rather than first doing the engineering, then doing the
06:16licensing, etc.
06:18So it's a good time to be building.
06:20And we're just very excited to be participating in the program.
06:23Yeah, it seems like it's a good time to be building for the obvious reasons that we will always need
06:28power.
06:28But then also, especially with AI data centers now driving an explosion in electricity demand.
06:34So how is deep vision positioning itself to really help meet those growing energy needs that really seem to be
06:39increasing day by day?
06:40Yeah, I mean, we are we are in a time right now when there is unlimited need for power and
06:48really the faster we can build, the faster we're going to have people demanding the usage of that power.
06:54And so this is an exciting time because it's really a race as to who can who can build it
06:59first and who can connect to the grid and start producing that electricity commercially.
07:05But then it's also a question of who can scale.
07:07And I should also mention that deep vision is able to use existing commercially available fuel, which is hugely helpful
07:14to us because it's commercially available.
07:16You can purchase it and it's already been through the licensing process.
07:21Yeah, that's a really important piece of the puzzle there to already have that kind of built in as something
07:25that you can use.
07:27Looking ahead, what is your long term vision for deep vision?
07:30How do you see the technology changing the future of nuclear energy, especially with the milestones that you've talked about
07:35having in place, even as early as for next year?
07:38Yeah, I mean, we're working right now on building our first reactor.
07:41So that is a huge milestone for us.
07:43But it is one that we expect and are targeting completion next year.
07:48Beyond that, it's going to be a question of scaling.
07:50How many more can we build?
07:52Now, we are working with the community in Parsons, Kansas to establish how much can we build in Parsons,
07:58Kansas that aligns with the community vision as well as the needs at this particular industrial park where we're building.
08:04So we can grow quite a bit larger at this particular site before then starting to deploy at other sites
08:10around the country and even around the world.
08:13Wow. Well, we have a lot to keep our eye on and we're so excited.
08:15We got to talk to you today, Liz Muller, co-founder and CEO of Deep Vision.
08:19Thank you so much for being here today.
08:20We really appreciate it.
08:22Thank you, Justine.
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