Rachael Zisk

Evanston, New York

Journalist at Payload

writing about cool stuff that's hard to build @ignitionnuclear and @payloadspace. alum @medillschool.

Featured in: Favicon

payloadspace.com Favicon

msn.com

fastcompany.com Favicon

flipboard.com Favicon

popsci.com Favicon

genome.gov Favicon

newsbreak.com Favicon

majalla.com Favicon

fastcompanybrasil.com Favicon

fastcompanyme.com + 1 more

Articles

Four Executive Orders Back Nuclear Power Development

1 week ago | ignition-news.com | Rachael Zisk

If there was any doubt in your mind that nuclear power is truly favored under the current administration, this past week should have erased it. On Friday, President Trump signed four executive orders. Each targets a different corner of the nuclear power development process, from funding to licensing to testing to deployment. The biggest goal: a 4x jump in US nuclear capacity by 2050.
Radiant Closes a $165M Series C

1 week ago | ignition-news.com | Rachael Zisk

Radiant, a nuclear firm founded by a SpaceX alum on a mission to replace diesel reactors with easily manufacturable and shippable nuclear microreactors, has closed a $165M round of funding to support its mission. The Series C was led by DCVC. It also included participation from StepStone, Giant Ventures, Hanwha Asset Management Venture Fund, SGA, Crossbeam Venture Partners, Align Ventures, ARK Venture Fund, Gigascale Capital, HartBeat Ventures, and Pax Ventures—all new investors.
The “Big, Beautiful Bill” Passes in the House

2 weeks ago | ignition-news.com | Rachael Zisk

This morning, just after 7 AM, after an exhausting 24-hour-plus back-and-forth between moderate and far-right Republicans, the House of Reps passed a reconciliation bill by a one-vote majority. The bill boosts military spending by $150B and makes early cuts to tax credit programs for clean energy, mainly renewables. Overall, nuclear energy maintained support.
Q1 Earnings Roll In

2 weeks ago | ignition-news.com | Rachael Zisk

A handful of nuclear firms have ventured onto the public markets, and Q1 earnings are starting to trickle in. Over the last week, three publicly traded advanced reactor companies—Oklo ($OKLO), NuScale Power ($SMR), and NANO Nuclear Energy ($NNE)—gave us a peek into how things are running. Here’s our roundup of the last week of nuclear earnings calls. NuScale plays a waiting game: NuScale is looking for solid customer contracts to secure while it awaits NRC approval of its 77 MW SMR design.
The NRC Dockets Dow’s Nuclear Construction Permit

3 weeks ago | ignition-news.com | Rachael Zisk

Dow is in at the NRC. The chemicals and plastics industrial giant announced in March that it would work with advanced nuclear firm X-energy to transition an industrial plant in Seadrift, TX to nuclear power. Now, the NRC has confirmed that it’s on board. The commission accepted—or docketed—the construction permit application for review this week.
Realta Fusion Raises a $36M Series A

3 weeks ago | ignition-news.com | Rachael Zisk

In its mission to build a magnetic mirror fusion machine, Realta Fusion has secured an additional $36M in funding. The Series A round was led by Future Ventures. It also included participation from Avila VC, GSBackers, Khosla Ventures, Mayfield, SiteGround, TitletownTech, and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Realta had already raised ~$16M across previous rounds and grants, bringing total funding to ~$52M.
Ontario Shoots to Build the West’s First SMR

3 weeks ago | ignition-news.com | Rachael Zisk

Watch out, America. Canada wants to beat you to the punch. Ontario Power Generation (OPG), a Canadian utility, has earned permission from the government of Ontario to begin building the first SMR at the Darlington New Nuclear Project. The project has been years in the making—site preparation began in 2022—and with this last approval, construction is set to begin.
Google Taps Elementl Power for Data Center Capacity

1 month ago | ignition-news.com | Rachael Zisk

The hyperscalers are living up to their name, and scaling that fast comes with a growing hunger for power. In this case, we mean nuclear power. Yesterday, Google announced a strategic agreement with Elementl Power, a nuclear project development company, to advance site development for three nuclear projects. Google is committing an undisclosed amount of capital to back these projects.
Trump Administration Releases Skinny Budget—The Nuclear Edition | Ignition News - Nuclear energy news

1 month ago | ignition-news.com | Rachael Zisk

The federal government’s shake-ups over the last few months and the administration’s promise to cut excess spending across the board have left many, ourselves included, on the edge of our seats awaiting the budget. On Friday, we got our first peek. The “skinny” budget request released late last week is an overview of the larger, more detailed document that outlines funding for the programs under each office.
China Wants 10 New Reactors—for $27B | Ignition News - Nuclear energy news

1 month ago | ignition-news.com | Rachael Zisk

China is outpacing the world in building nuclear reactors. That’s hard to dispute given that the country has more than 30 new reactors under construction and more nuclear capacity in pipeline than the rest of the world combined. And it’s not stopping there. This week, China’s State Council approved the construction of 10 new large-scale nuclear reactors at five sites. It’s the fourth year in a row China has approved at least 10 new reactors.