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GoogleX\u2019s raison d\u2019etre is embracing far out ideas, so it\u2019s no surprise, really that former Director Mike Cassidy is\u00a0wading into the decided choppy and always controversial waters of nuclear energy.<\/p>\n
Cassidy, whose most recent tenure at Google found him heading up the company balloon-based internet initiative Project Loon,<\/a> has been quietly working on launching working on\u00a0Apollo Fusion.<\/a>\u00a0The company is a new energy\u00a0startup working to develop \u201crevolutionary hybrid reactor technology with fusion power to serve safe, clean, and affordable electricity to everyone.\u201d (It\u2019s also apparently the name of a racing bike<\/a>. Go figure).<\/p>\n The company\u2019s recently updated site opens with the words \u201cLet\u2019s quietly redefine what\u2019s possible,\u201d which seems to describe its launch strategy as much as anything. Bloomberg, which first noticed the new information<\/a>, notes that, until a few days ago, Apollo Fusion\u2019s site simply sported a definition of nuclear fusion, at not much else.<\/p>\n Of course, nuclear power is still a going concern, albeit less eagerly embraced than during its salad days. In October of last year, the US opened a nuclear reactor in Tennessee \u2013 its first new one in 20 years. And a number of companies like Transatomic and UPower<\/a> are promising safe new alternatives to nuclear power of decades past. The new technologies, coupled with ever-increasing concerns about climate change have caused many to reconsider nuclear energy as a potential alternative.<\/p>\n As its name implies, Cassidy\u2019s solution is fusion-based, following in the footsteps of companies like the Jeff Bezos-backed TriAlpha Energy<\/a> and Helion Energy<\/a>. Fusion, which fuses together rather than splits atoms, is considered safer than the more traditional fission, including less waste created as a byproduct.\u00a0There also isn\u2019t the same risk of meltdown.<\/p>\n Though\u00a0various versions of fusion technologies have been the subject of undelivered promises for decades, including, notably cold fusion. That was debunked<\/a> shortly after it was first proposed in the late-80s.<\/p>\n Cassidy himself doesn\u2019t appear ready to offer up much more information on the subject, though he did acknowledge what may likely be an uphill battle in the recognition of nuclear energy as a viable alternative power source.<\/p>\n \u201cEnvironmentalists have struggled for a while over whether nuclear power is good or bad,\u201d he told Bloomberg in an otherwise decidedly limited conversation. \u201cI think most of the more thoughtful environmentalists now view nuclear as good. If you can find a way to do nuclear power that doesn\u2019t have the downsides, the risky, runaway meltdowns, or things like that, it\u2019s a real win for the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s no surprise, of course, that the site features a prominent declaration of safety for the company\u2019s technology. The site explains, \u201cApollo Fusion hybrid power plants are designed for zero-consequence outcomes to loss of cooling or loss of control scenarios and they cannot melt down.\u201d<\/p>\n After all, for many, notions of nuclear power still elicit troubling images of tragedy, bolstered by recent events like 2011\u2019s Fukushima disaster. Public opinions don\u2019t appear to be trending in a positive direction, either. A Gallup poll from roughly this time last year notes that that, for a first time (since the poll was launched in the mid-90s), a majority of Americans oppose nuclear energy<\/a>\u00a0at 54-percent.<\/p>\n At the very least, it\u2019s hard to imagine too many Americans feeling comfortable with a plant opening in their backyard.<\/p>\n Apollo\u2019s site ticks off other boxes as well, including emission-free production and inexpensive construction and operation. And, the site adds, \u201cBecause they\u2019re inherently safe, Apollo Fusion power plants can be nestled in the communities they serve, to make power right where customers need it.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, likely an uphill sell, no matter how safe the new technology is stated to be. Still, Cassidy says that the company\u2019s tech has already won over a few key players: namely, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both of whom are reportedly \u201csuper enthusiastic\u201d about Apollo\u2019s work, though neither currently count themselves among backers of the company.<\/p>\n Featured Image: James Marvin Phelps<\/a>\/Flickr<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/08\/2468396121_7c6c132c8e_b.jpg?w=680\")
GoogleX’s raison d’etre is embracing far out ideas, so it’s no surprise, really that former Director Mike Cassidy is\u00a0wading into the decided choppy and always controversial waters of nuclear energy. Cassidy, whose most recent tenure at Google found him heading up the company balloon-based internet initiative Project Loon, has been quietly working on launching working… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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