Tyler Ellis, Ph.D., M.B.A., is an investor, policy advisor and expert on energy and climate tech. He is the founder of Black Hills Partners, an investment and advisory firm focused on companies making immense global impact in the way we create and consume energy. He is also an investor and senior advisor to Commonwealth Fusion Systems where he has worked with the CEO since before inception on international business development, strategy and government relations. Tyler advises several groups at the International Atomic Energy Agency, sits on the scientific advisory board for Tekcapital and is a Visiting Scientist at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center.Tyler has a long history working with government agencies and private companies globally on complex technical policy and regulatory work. Tyler was responsible for spearheading how to regulate and permit fusion power plants, having worked with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Fusion Industry Association to define a framework that protects public health and safety while simultaneously being ~100x cheaper and ~15x faster than the policy designed for fission energy. Further, Tyler also advised the UK Government on their fusion regulatory framework which shaped their final policy. Additionally, Tyler conceived several innovative public-private partnership programs for the U.S. Department of Energy. These include the “Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program” and “INFUSE,” which provide private fusion companies with funds to design commercially viable fusion pilot plants in line with the White House’s Bold Decadal Vision for Fusion Energy. Tyler previously served on the U.S. Department of Energy Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee for Long Range Planning.Tyler began his career at TerraPower, a Bill Gates-backed nuclear energy company where he joined pre-launch as employee #9, raised ~$500M and managed a team of 120 engineers and physicists to deliver a first-of-its-kind Traveling Wave Reactor design. Tyler has a Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. from MIT in Nuclear Science and Engineering and a MBA from Harvard Business School. He has authored 22 academic papers and created 4 U.S. and 6 international patents.
Listed skills include Energy, Strategy, Nuclear, Start Ups, and 36 others.