Nuclear Energy Technology: pathways for Australia and the world
February 21, 2018 - Ben Heard
Nuclear Energy Technology: pathways for Australia and the world
The use of nuclear power technologies is in a state of great flux, with a cohort of seemingly contradictory evidence regarding its current performance
and future potential. This webinar will explore the changing face of nuclear technology world-wide, exploring the successes, the failures, the challenges
and the opportunities, including the development of small high temperature reactors. After a global examination, the webinar will look more closely
at the Australian energy market and explore the potential role for nuclear technologies and both the barriers and opportunities relating to its late
adoption in Australia.
Ben Heard, Founder and Executive Director at Bright New World
Ben is a highly qualified sustainability professional, now focused on the role of nuclear technologies in enhancing human prosperity and the natural environment.
He has recently completed doctoral studies at the University of Adelaide (currently under assessment) with a thesis called Clean. Reliable. Affordable:
The role of nuclear technology in 21st century energy supply. His first published paper won the 2016 Publication Medal from the Royal Society of South
Australia, and his third paper is the #1 ranked altmetric for the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. He was closely involved in the
process of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, and provided testimony to the Join Committee reviewing the Royal Commission findings. He was a
member of the Public Advisory Panel for the siting of the Federal government’s low and intermediate level radioactive waste storage and disposal facility.
Ben completed a Masters in Corporate Sustainability at Monash University and spent several years in stakeholder consultation and communications for complex
sustainability issues like native and plantation forestry industries, legacy toxic waste sites and transport infrastructure.
He worked in major projects in climate change adaptation (and mitigation. This led to the establishment of his own small consulting firm in South Australia.
In 2011, he became a public figure representing the case for nuclear technologies as environmentally beneficial, particularly in relation to climate
change mitigation. Through his blog, Decarbonise SA, he tracked this journey and helped to build a growing international community. He now operates
a membership-based, non-governmental organisation to represent this community in the public arena via submissions, presentations, articles, research
and media work, in Australia and internationally.
