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The Tech Entrepreneur Who Thinks He Can Reverse Climate Change With Nuclear Power
Bret Kugelmass believes nuclear energy can regain popularity if we can make it profitable
“We have to convince the rest of the world,” Bret Kugelmass tells an audience of engineers at the University of Michigan, “that nuclear isn’t as bad as they once thought.”
Speaking in slow, carefully enunciated sentences, he paces the stage, his hair slicked back in a swoop. We not only have to stop climate change but reverse it, he argues — and the only way to do so is by doubling down on nuclear energy. For that to work, he continues, the economics of the industry have to change, along with people’s minds. Accomplishing both is his raison d’être.
These budding engineers are intrigued about how they can help. In addition to a better future, there’s money in it for them — about $17,000 worth, for now, thanks to a competition Kugelmass is about to announce.
Since leaving the business world with a pile of cash, Kugelmass has become obsessed with pushing the idea that nuclear power — in a revamped, cheaper form — is the answer to our environmental woes. Its ultra-efficient power production, he believes, provides enough oomph to suck sufficient carbon out of the atmosphere. Nuclear isn’t…
