Episode Details

Why Nuclear's Moment Is Now: Stefano Buono, CEO of newcleo

For newcleo founder and CEO Stefano Buono, nuclear energy's next chapter has been more than 30 years in the making. Now, rising electricity demand, energy security concerns, and changing attitudes toward nuclear are creating an opening for ideas he began pursuing in the 1990s.

In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy, host Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search, sits down with Buono to explore what makes this nuclear moment different and what it will take to turn that momentum into commercial projects.

A physicist and entrepreneur, Buono previously founded Advanced Accelerator Applications, the nuclear medicine company acquired by Novartis for approximately $3.9 billion. He shares how that experience prepared him to return to his original ambition: developing a different approach to nuclear energy.

Today, newcleo is developing lead-cooled fast reactors designed to use recycled nuclear fuel. Buono explains the technology in accessible terms, including why useful energy remains in spent fuel, how liquid lead supports the company's approach to passive safety, and why the economics of recycling matter.

The conversation also tackles the difficult questions: plutonium security, the history of costly U.S. fuel projects, regulatory approvals, and the challenge of financing and building an entire reactor and fuel supply chain.

In this episode:

• Why decarbonization, energy independence, and AI-driven electricity demand are reshaping nuclear's opportunity.
• How lead-cooled fast reactors differ from conventional nuclear plants.
• What recycled mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel could mean for fuel supply and nuclear waste.
• newcleo's proposed work with Oklo and its ambitions at Savannah River.
• Why industrial heat and manufacturing matter alongside data centers.
• The milestones that will show whether newcleo is moving toward commercial deployment.
• Buono's advice for founders building technologies that take decades to reach the market.

Release update: This conversation was recorded ahead of newcleo's Nasdaq debut. The company subsequently completed its business combination with NewHold, securing approximately $247 million in gross proceeds, and began trading under NWCL on September 22, 2026.

For energy leaders, founders, and anyone curious about advanced nuclear, this episode connects the science to the practical work of bringing new energy projects to life.

Subscribe to Green Giants: Titans of Clean Energy wherever you get your podcasts, and share this episode with someone following nuclear's next chapter.

Links:
Stefano Buono on LinkedIn
newcleo's Website
newcleo's Nasdaq Listing and $247 Million Funding Announcement
newcleo Targets US Expansion with Nasdaq Debut, AI-Driven Power Demand

Wes Ashworth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weslgs/

• Email: wes@leegroupsearch.com
• https://leegroupsearch.com/green-giants-podcast/
• https://leegroupsearch.com/