Bret van den Akker
Knoxville, TN, USA
Dr. Bret van den Akker is the Director of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Technology at NAC International. He brings extensive experience in nuclear engineering, business development, and strategic leadership to this role. His expertise spans the entire nuclear fuel cycle including used fuel management to decommissioning. He is passionate about advancing the safe and sustainable use of nuclear energy and is committed to driving innovation and growth in the nuclear market. Prior to joining NAC, Dr. van den Akker served as the Director of Fuel Cycle Innovation at Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC). In this role, he spearheaded the development of a comprehensive global corporate back-end management program, encompassing used nuclear fuel management and decommissioning strategies. He played a pivotal role in establishing USNC's approach to used fuel management, representing the company across various platforms and significantly maturing its corporate back-end strategy. Notably, he developed a commercially executable pathway for managing USNC's used nuclear fuel, demonstrating his expertise in producing innovative solutions for the back end of the fuel cycle.
Dr. van den Akker's contributions at USNC extended beyond strategic planning, encompassing the development and execution of innovative solutions for complex challenges in the nuclear industry. His success in securing a $6.4 million (CAD) R&D funding award from NRCan to support TRISO disposal in Canada highlights his ability to identify and capitalize on emerging opportunities. Before his tenure at USNC, he served as a Lead Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he supported ARPA-E in developing the $40 million Optimizing Nuclear Waste and Advanced Reactor Disposal Systems (ONWARD) program. This program focused on addressing technical challenges related to advanced reactor waste. He also successfully led cost-saving initiatives at the Y-12 and Pantex complexes, resulting in over $5 million in savings. His earlier experience includes roles as a Consultant at Boston Consulting Group and a Staff Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Dr. van den Akker holds a B.A. in Physics, an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He is also pursuing an MBA and an M.S. in Strategic Management at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
Areas of Expertise
- Advanced reactor waste management
- Community support outreach development
- Decommissioning strategies
- Deep Isolation
- Fuel cycle design
- Government Policy evaluation and impacts
- Nuclear facility site feasibility studies
- Nuclear Nonproliferation, Safeguards & Security support
- Regulatory assistance and support
- Repository and recycling economics
- RFP and bid evaluations
- Site selection evaluation for interim storage, DGR, other disposal
- Spent fuel storage options and economics
- Waste acceptance criteria development
- Waste Management and Disposal
