The Blockspace Pod: America’s Nuclear Revival is Here w/ Dr. Hash Hashemian

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4.7 • 698 Ratings

🗓️ 3 March 2026

⏱️ 52 minutes

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Summary

AI has reawakened interest in nuclear energy, but rebooting America’s nuclear age will take time and face challenges. Get your tickets to OPNEXT 2026 before prices increase! Join us on April 16 in NYC for technical discussions, investor talks, and intimate conversation with the brightest minds in Bitcoin. Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! Today, Dr. Hashem Hashemian, President of the American Nuclear Society and CEO of AMS, joins us to talk about the massive resurgence of nuclear energy in the United States. We dive into the shift from decommissioning plants to life-extensions of up to 100 years, the economic impact of AI and data centers on power demand, and the $12 billion investment flowing into Tennessee's nuclear hub. Dr. Hashemian explains why nuclear fell out of favor and the challenges the industry faces as it gets back on its feet. Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: * 94 nuclear plants produce 20% of US power. * License extensions aim for 100-year lifespans. * $12B committed for nuclear fuel refining in Oak Ridge. * $100M Tennessee state funding for nuclear dev. * Global nuclear must triple for climate goals. * $1.7B Oklo recycling plant coming to Tennessee. Timestamps: 00:00 Start 05:51 Tennessee represent 07:56 State of the nuclear industry 10:42 Nuclear faded in USA 17:19 Barriers to Nuclear development 20:12 Reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 27:01 Red tape 29:47 What other policies would be good? 32:41 China copying 34:17 Remaining chokepoints 38:05 States leading the charge 40:46 Are SMRs really a thing? 44:18 Why are SMRs taking so long? 46:21 Fusion? Are we still talking about this? 48:56 Recycling fuel 👉CleanSpark CleanSpark (Nasdaq: CLSK) is a market-leading data center developer with a proven track record of success. We own a portfolio of power, land, and data centers across the United States powered by globally competitive energy prices. Sitting at the intersection of Bitcoin, energy, operational excellence and capital stewardship, we optimize our infrastructure to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. Monetizing low-cost, high reliability energy by producing a global emerging critical resource – compute – positions us to prosper in an ever-changing world. 👉Luxor, Blockspace's preferred mining pool Bitcoin mining revenue changes every day. Difficulty adjusts. Fees move. Prices shift. And that makes it hard to plan. Luxor Pool’s Fixed Payouts let miners lock in revenue at a guaranteed daily rate for up to 18 months. According to Hashrate Index, miners who used rolling fixed payout strategies since the last halving have outperformed FPPS mining by up to 15 percent. Fixed Payouts give you predictable daily revenue, so you can plan, budget, and grow with confidence. With Luxor, uncertainty is optional. Learn more at luxor.tech/mining

Transcript

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0:00.0	The state of nuclear in the United States as follows. So we have 94 nuclear power plants that are operating and producing about 20% of U.S. electricity.
0:09.9	Nuclear is the second largest power generation in the United States, even today.
0:14.9	So we are building a series of new nuclear power plant.
0:19.4	We call them small modular reactor or advanced nuclear
0:22.8	reactors, SMRs and AMRs. We are also extending the life of the existing plants. So the plants in the
0:30.1	United States are licensed to operate for 40 years initially, but you can extend that to 60 and 80.
0:36.4	And I think about eight or 10 of them are
0:38.7	not licensed to go to 80 years. And there is talks of running nuclear power plants to 100 years.
0:44.2	So one of the things that people have to realize is that even though it's very expensive to
0:48.8	build one, the fact that you can use it for 100 years, it pays for itself.
0:55.8	Welcome back to the Blockspace podcast brought to you by CleanSpark.
0:59.4	Nuclear energy is cool again, and we have AI to think for that.
1:02.9	But we're also coming off of decades of stagnation in the industry following the three-fold
1:07.7	disasters at Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island that scared
1:12.1	most of the developed world, including the U.S., away from nuclear energy.
1:15.8	But now, we're seeing a resurgence in nuclear energy and technology as AI data centers
1:21.1	press demand onto regional grids across the U.S.
1:25.1	To discuss the current revival, we have Dr. Hashemian, the president of the American
1:30.1	Nuclear Society on today's show, to discuss the current state of America's nuclear industry
1:34.8	where it is headed and what barriers are in its way as the American nuclear sector
1:41.6	sees its largest revival in some decades.
1:44.7	If you're a new kid, this show is for you.
	...

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