Interview with John Portillo
“Start small, think big”
1. Could you briefly explain what ParagonES does and what your role is in the energy transition?
“For over a decade, Paragon has worked with New Nuclear leaders and formed partnerships with industry pioneers.
We’ve used our wealth of experience to develop innovative solutions uniquely tailored to each reactor design; solutions like the Highly Integrated Protection System (HIPS) and the CoreVision Neutron Monitoring System and custom reactor trip switchgear solutions”.
2. Why is ParagonES supporting this conference on SMRs and supply chains?
“We are participating in this conference to support our European New Nuclear current and future partners in strengthening their supply chain options.
Paragon offers over 30 years of nuclear industry supply experience with a wide range of product offerings”.
3. What opportunities do you see for SMRs in the European or global energy mix?
“I see the same opportunities in Europe as I do in the rest of world, New Nuclear is inevitable. European countries are showing positive indicators by updating laws to allow nuclear and the EU in including nuclear in the taxonomy regulations.
AI and hyperscalers are going to build quickly and at scale, it is up to the nuclear industry to ensure we are ready to support the tremendous electrical load demands this will put on all of the EU grids”.
4. In your opinion, what is a key issue within the SMR supply chain?
“Key suppliers are waiting for firm demand signals ahead of investing in capacity, which is understandable.
However, this will cause a bottleneck once order books and backlog begin to solidify and grow. New Nuclear vendors need to work closely with and invest in key supply chain areas to ensure production readiness”.
5. If we had to know one project or initiative from ParagonES that aligns well with this theme, what would it be?
“Our theme is “start small, think big” when it comes to supporting the New Nuclear customer/developers. With that in mind, we are investing in our R&D and in process of upgrading our 200,000 sqft facility to ensure our capacity ahead of the inevitable demand for our products”.
Want to know more about Paragon Energy Solutions?
Check out the website at the link below