Harsh S. Desai
Chief Commercialization Officer
Zeno Power

Abstract

Radioisotope Power Systems (RPSs) are a foundational technology that provide power in austere, hard-to-reach, places, such as space, maritime, and Arctic remote environments. RPSs include radioisotope heater units (RHUs), radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), and radioisotope Stirling generators (RSGs) and enable critical government and commercial missions with Watts to kilowatts of thermal and electrical power. This seminar will provide background on why RPSs are a foundational technology, discuss broadening government and commercial markets, and address how Zeno Power is meeting the demand. Zeno Power is currently executing on contracts with NASA and the DOD, and is on track to deliver its initial RPSs to customers by 2026.

Biography

Harsh has over 15 years of experience in deploying clean energy technologies. In his current capacity as the Chief Commercialization Officer, he is responsible for supply chain, nuclear regulatory, policy and government affairs efforts for Zeno Power.

In his previous role at the Nuclear Energy Institute, he was responsible for financial modeling, economic analyses, policy development, business strategy, and industry collaborations. Prior to that, he was an Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he launched innovative programs and partnerships
between the National Labs, Universities, and the private industry to develop and demonstrate concepts toward commercialization.

Notably, Harsh served as the ANS Congressional Fellow and Legislative Advisor in the U.S. Senate covering energy, transportation, climate change, and appropriations portfolios. His other past roles include being an advisor to the executive leadership of the Naval Nuclear Laboratory, integrating Knolls
Atomic and Bettis laboratories, two naval reactors training facilities, and fuel processing facilities post-merger. His technical roles include being a Senior Nuclear Engineer at Knolls Atomic Lab and Edison Nuclear Engineer at the GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy.

Harsh has an MBA from New York University’s Stern Business School, along with BS & MS in Nuclear Engineering from NC State University.

Harsh is an active member within the industry and serves as the Treasurer for the American Nuclear Society and a member of the Board of Directors. He is a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council and serves on the North Carolina State University’s Nuclear Engineering Department Advisory Committee.
Harsh enjoys going on adventures, such as chasing tornadoes, being an avid photographer, traveling, brewing beer, and now, particularly in the pandemic, growing exotic (and spicy) peppers.

Wednesday, February 21. 2024
4:00 pm seminar

zoom link upon request