Amid the accelerated global energy transition away from fossil fuels, the nuclear power industry is experiencing robust momentum. As global interest in nuclear power revives, the United States and multiple other nations have set a goal to triple global nuclear power capacity by 2050.
Surging electricity demand stems primarily from three key areas: energy-intensive artificial intelligence data centers, the accelerating electrification of global industries, and demand for convenient appliances from an expanding global middle class seeking higher living standards. Wind and solar power currently cannot fully meet this demand, leaving stable baseload power primarily reliant on natural gas and nuclear reactors. This trend is driving renewed focus on the nuclear energy sector.
Multiple favorable factors are jointly propelling nuclear power development: heightened geopolitical tensions increasing energy security concerns, a sustained shift in government policies towards supporting nuclear power, and increased investment and partnerships with nuclear companies by global corporate giants. Microsoft, Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company), and Amazon have all explicitly stated their need to rely on nuclear power to support their data center operations. To advance this goal, the Trump administration signed executive orders to accelerate the nuclear industry, with additional policy support coming from the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
This policy shift is significant, leading institutional capital to flow towards companies capable of delivering actual nuclear power generation, rather than those merely presenting reactor design concepts. Against this backdrop, here are five nuclear energy stocks worth watching now:
Last September, the company secured a major agreement with Microsoft. This deal includes plans to restart Unit 1 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. The restart project is a core component of a 20-year power purchase agreement aimed at supplying electricity to Microsoft’s artificial intelligence data centers.
The company’s core business involves building power systems for U.S. Navy nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, and participating in the cleanup of government nuclear sites. The stock’s investment highlight lies in its leading advantage in nuclear fuel technology. While peers are still in the conceptual stages of their advanced nuclear fuel technologies, BWXT has already achieved product delivery. The stock is seen as a direct beneficiary of developments in nuclear fuel and small modular reactor (SMR) technology.
This is an advanced nuclear technology company founded in 2013 and headquartered in California. The company’s goal is to develop fast fission power stations to provide clean, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy at scale. Oklo’s primary product is the Aurora microreactor, capable of generating 15 to 50 megawatts of power for use in data centers, artificial intelligence operations, remote communities, industrial sites, and military bases.
The company focuses on designing and promoting a new generation of small modular reactors (SMRs). A single reactor module can generate 77 megawatts of electricity and can be scaled up to over 900 megawatts. The technological advantage lies in the reactor’s smaller size compared to traditional nuclear power plants, enabling it to directly replace retiring coal plants and provide stable baseload power. NuScale has secured design certification from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for one of its designs, positioning it advantageously in the current nuclear renaissance. SMR technology is expected to expand application scenarios, enhance safety, and accelerate nuclear power plant construction.
The company’s core business focuses on High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU). According to the World Nuclear Association, the majority of current advanced reactors and over half of the SMR designs under development require HALEU. Centrus is the only company in the U.S. licensed to produce HALEU. Leveraging this exclusive license and manufacturing experience, Centrus has broad market prospects, positioned to supply fuel for the growing number of advanced reactors, SMRs, and microreactors. HALEU can also be used in conventional reactors.
