NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. (“NANO Nuclear”), a company emerging from the shared micro Small Modular Reactor (SMR) ambitions of a world class nuclear technical team working alongside business and industry professionals, possessing strong relationships with both government as well as the private and public nuclear industries, is pleased to announce that James Walker has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and as part of the Board of Directors.

The Path to Zero starts here. NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. strives to disrupt the SMR space, principally in underdeveloped nuclear areas, and advance micro SMRs towards development and deployment in residential, commercial, and industrial settings. NANO Nuclear Energy is committed to building smaller, cheaper, and safer nuclear energy, while incorporating the latest technology into its own proprietary mobile and on-demand capable nano nuclear reactors, novel reactor designs, intellectual properties, and research methods.

James Walker’s professional engineering experience includes nuclear reactors, mines, submarines, chemical plants, factories, mine processing facilities, infrastructure, automotive machinery, and testing rigs. Mr. Walker was the U.K Ministry of Defence project lead and manager for constructing the new Rolls-Royce Nuclear Chemical Plant; he was the U.K. Subject Matter Expert for the U.K. Nuclear Material Recovery Capabilities and was a technical project manager for constructing the U.K. reactor core manufacturing facilities.

“I’d like to be the first to officially welcome James to the path of net zero, a goal that both of us are incredibly passionate about. James’ experience and pedigree speak for themselves and I believe that this is the perfect time for him to flex his expertise in an effort to disrupt this space,” said Jay Jiang Yu, Founder, Chairman and President of NANO Nuclear Energy Inc. “James taking the mantle as CEO is just one of many steps that will take us to a greener future, and I couldn’t be more excited to begin this venture with him.”

Mr. Walker holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering, and Nuclear Engineering, as well as qualifications in Project Management and Accountancy. He is a Chartered Engineer with the IMechE, a Chartered Physicist with the IoP, a Project Manager Professional with the APM, and a Professional Engineer with the Engineers and Geoscientists BC.

“We find ourselves at a unique point in time: governments around the world are collaborating with private industry in order to create reliable, and environmentally friendly forms of energy to power the future. I believe this is where NANO Nuclear is meant to be and it is an honor to helm this company as its CEO during this exciting time,” said James Walker, NANO Nuclear CEO and Board Member. “The recent funding of Rolls Royce’s SMR project, a company I hold dearly in my heart from my time there, by a consortium including the Qatar Investment Authority as well as the company’s receipt of a grant from the U.K. Research and Innovation public body, further underlines the enormous amount of potential that can be found in this industry and renews my belief in the future of this marketplace.”

Mr. Walker joins NANO Nuclear at an opportune time, as the marketplace has begun to gather momentum with regulatory approvals around the world clearing the way for advanced and innovative nuclear reactor designs. For instance, the British government has asked its nuclear regulator to start the process for approving Rolls-Royce’s planned small- scale modular nuclear reactor after last year taking part in a £500 million cash injection in the company to develop the country’s first small modular nuclear reactor (SMR). Rolls Royce now expects U.K. regulatory approval by mid-2024, and plans to create its first small nuclear reactors by 2029.

This coincides with the release of the government’s recently updated Energy Security Strategy, which embraces the safe, clean, affordable new generation of nuclear reactors and sets a goal of increasing its plans for deployment of civil nuclear to up to 24GW by 2050. Furthermore, up to eight more nuclear reactors could be approved on existing sites as part of the U.K. government’s new energy strategy, which plans to source up to 95% of the country’s electricity from low-carbon sources by 2030.