Amid an accelerated energy transition, uranium—an important low-carbon energy source—is attracting growing attention from investors. Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), which have rapidly developed as an investment tool in recent years, now offer market participants a new way to tap into the uranium industry.
After years of sluggish performance, the spot price of uranium broke through the $100 per pound barrier in early 2024, driven by supply risks and long-term demand expectations. Although prices later corrected somewhat, the industry’s fundamentals remain robust. Factors supporting this include limited new uranium mine development, Russia’s dominant role in uranium conversion and enrichment, increased demand for low-carbon energy, and the advancement of small modular reactor technology.
China and India, motivated by growing electricity demand and pressures to improve air quality, are steadily expanding their nuclear power capacities. Despite China ranking among the world’s top ten uranium producers, its dependency on imported uranium remains high. At the industry conference in January 2025, Amir Adnani, CEO of Uranium Energy (NYSEAMERICAN: UEC), noted that this year’s uranium mine output will only meet 75% of demand, leaving a 25% shortfall.
Currently, the market offers five uranium-focused ETFs and four physical uranium investment tools:
The first ETF mentioned is the Global X Uranium ETF (ARCA: URA) with an asset base of $2.7 billion. This fund focuses on uranium mining companies and nuclear component manufacturers, holding significant positions in companies like Cameco (with a weight of 22.31%), NexGen Energy (5.64%), and SPROTT Physical Uranium Trust (8.52%).
The second product, SPROTT Uranium Miners ETF (ARCA: URNM), has assets of $1.32 billion and spans the entire uranium industry chain. This ETF’s top holdings include Cameco at 15.28%, SPROTT Physical Uranium Trust at 13.21%, and Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom at 12.99%.
The third ETF, VanEck Vectors Uranium & Nuclear Energy ETF (ARCA: NLR), established in 2007 with assets of $1.02 billion, primarily allocates funds to U.S. energy groups such as Constellation Energy Group (8.49%) and Public Service Enterprise Group (7.38%).
The SPROTT Physical Uranium Trust (TSX: U.U) tops the list with assets of $4.09 billion and holdings of 66.22 million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8). Launched in 2021, this trust has significantly boosted market enthusiasm.
Another instrument is Yellow Cake, a UK-listed entity (LSE: YCA, OTCQB: YLLXF), which holds 21.68 million pounds of uranium resources through a long-term agreement with Kazakhstan’s atomic energy company and benefits from an annual procurement cap of up to $100 million until 2027.
Zuri-Invest Uranium AMC is an innovative actively managed certificate that involves Cameco as the custodian and stores uranium in secure Canadian facilities, catering to qualified institutional investors with a total scale of $1.65 billion.
Finally, the xU3O8 token leverages the Tezos blockchain to digitize uranium assets. It represents 38,464 kilograms of uranium stored at a Cameco facility through digital certificates, offering a novel investment channel.
With 65 nuclear power units under construction coming online globally and the continued development of modular reactor technology, the supply-demand dynamics in the uranium market are expected to tighten further. While short-term price volatility remains a possibility, the diversification of investment tools is expanding the strategic choices available to market participants.
