Due Diligence Executive Brief for Advanced Reactor Founders
Book Coming Soon in Summer 2026
There are more than 100 companies pursuing more than 150 advanced reactor designs as of February 2026. The number continues to grow.
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The industry is full of intelligent engineers, compelling designs, and strong capital formation.
Yet history shows a sobering pattern:
Brilliant reactors collapse inside fragile organizations.
Licensing delays consume runway.
Configuration churn destroys capital efficiency.
Fuel strategy is assumed instead of structured.
Quality assurance is retrofitted after commitments have already been made.
The companies that survive are not simply innovative.
They are disciplined.
This executive brief distills the structural realities that determine whether your reactor program is commercially viable — not just technically credible.
Sign up to receive the executive brief of Due Diligence.
What You'll Learn
This is not a nuclear industry hype book.
It is not a physics refresher.
It is not a regulatory checklist pulled from a website.
It is not a memoir.
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It is a commercialization framework built from real licensing experience across:
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Light water reactors
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Non-light water reactors
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Microreactors
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Fuel cycle interfaces
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Transportation licensing
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Construction environments
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DOE and NRC regulatory engagement
Inside the book, you will learn:
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Why commercialization is institutional, not neutronic
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The Four Forces that govern every reactor company
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How reactor type commits you to regulatory architecture
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Why QA is governance, not paperwork
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When configuration control must begin
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How transport licensing under 10 CFR 71 complicates microreactor deployment
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The most common institutional failure signals that precede layoffs and capital loss
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The questions sophisticated investors quietly evaluate
This is the conversation happening in serious boardrooms.
Who This Is For
This book is written for:
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Advanced reactor founders
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Chief Technology Officers
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Chief Nuclear Officers
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Venture-backed nuclear CEOs
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Engineering leaders entering licensing engagement
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Boards overseeing regulatory strategy
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Investors funding FOAK demonstrations
If you are building PowerPoint slides and optimism, this will feel uncomfortable.
If you are building a licensable institution, this will feel validating.
Why This Perspective Matters
The nuclear industry does not forgive institutional immaturity. Right now, a rising tide is lifting all boats, but all tides eventually go out.
Licensing is iterative and public.
Regulatory credibility compounds slowly and erodes quickly.
Design drift multiplies cost.
Transport requirements expand regulatory interfaces.
Fuel strategy errors stall deployment regardless of physics performance.
The reactor is rarely the problem.
The institution usually is.
This book explains why — and what to do about it.
About the Author
Sarah Gibboney, P.E. is the Founder of Gibboney Nuclear, PLLC, a licensing and QA advisory firm serving advanced reactor companies. She has designed or licensed 8 nuclear reactor designs in her career so far.
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She has worked in every stage of the nuclear cycle, with exception to mining/conversion:​
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Enrichment
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Reactor physics and safety analysis
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Core design and fuel design
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Utility operation and outages
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Transportation licensing under 10 CFR Part 71
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Project Pele and transportation with DoD
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DOE and NRC regulatory frameworks
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Nuclear construction environments
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Configuration control architecture
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QA program implementation
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Advanced reactor licensing strategy
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Reprocessing
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Spent fuel management under 10 CFR 72
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Waste emplacement
This book reflects lived experience inside billion-dollar programs and early-stage startups.
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It was written because too many advanced reactor companies underestimate institutional gravity.
Subscribe to the Commercialization Briefing
If you are serious about building a deployable reactor program, the executive brief is only the beginning.
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Join the Commercialization Briefing to receive:
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Licensing pathway insights
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DOE vs NRC institutional contrasts
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Configuration control case studies
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Capital exposure frameworks
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Transportation licensing implications
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Early excerpts from the forthcoming book
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Commentary on structural industry shifts
This newsletter is written for operators, not spectators.