Isaiah Taylor of Valar Atomics — Nuclear Fission and Energy Abundance

In this conversation, we talk with Isaiah Taylor the founder of Valar Atomics — a new energy startup using nuclear fission to create oil & gas from thin air. At Valar, their goal is to bring the cost of energy down 10-100x and unlock a new era of superabundance. Enjoy! Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Build the Future 01:11 Introducing Isaiah Taylor and Valar Atomics 01:53 Nuclear energy and the regulatory environment 04:38 Why use more energy? 08:53 Energy efficiency, cars and incentives 10:40 The Kardashev scale and planetary ambition 12:45 Recovering the confidence to build 18:29 Valar’s nuclear-to-fuel proposal 22:49 Moving energy through existing fuel infrastructure 29:12 Rethinking the starting assumptions 30:16 Hydrocarbon synthesis, explained 33:28 Comparing approaches to fuel production 35:44 What cheaper energy could enable 40:53 Beauty, energy and the frontier 45:21 Intelligence, energy and dexterity 48:11 Sources of conviction and inspiration 50:43 Where to find Isaiah and Valar Links Valar Atomics Thanks for listening to this episode of the Build the Future Podcast. This is a project by World's Fair Co. You can learn more at worldsfair.org.