Nuclear energy is back at the forefront these days, with Silicon Valley heavy hitters like Bill Gates and Sam Altman throwing hundreds of millions of personal wealth into next-generation reactor development.
Their personal interest? Powering the coming artificial intelligence revolution, which is projected to be the biggest energy-drain in human history.
That means that nuclear stocks in general are going to see a resurgence as a once quiet corner of the energy market awakens.
The question is, what approach will give investors the biggest advantage of the moment?
If you want size and stability, the massively diversified American icon, General Electric (NYSE:GE) is getting into the small modular reactor game, with the BWRX-300 nuclear reactor — delivering up to 300 megawatts of carbon free power. That’s enough to power about 90,000 homes.
The trend won’t move this needle too much, but hey, at least you’ll be able to tell your friends that you and Bill Gates think alike.
And then there are the major energy companies, like NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE), which operate their own nuclear reactor fleets, providing power to millions.
NextEra, like GE, is an American icon, which was originally founded back in 1925 under the name Florida Power and Light. Over the years, it has evolved into the biggest utility holding company in the world.
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Nuclear Stocks: Varying Levels Of Exposure
With more than 57 GW of production capacity in its inventory, this $149B giant has interests in all areas of the energy sector, but the nuclear slice of this pie remains fairly small – less than 3 GW.
Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) is another one that fits the bill as far as SMR exposure. This is another utility company — albeit smaller at just $41B market capitalization.
Dominion, along with another VA-based energy interest, Appalachian Power, are currently trying to pass legislation that would allow for the two companies to implement rate adjustments to finance the cost of SMR construction.
This makes them two of a small number of American utility providers actively seeking to diversify their interests into this emerging sector.
And then there are the fuel suppliers.
The U.S. hasn’t been a big name in Uranium mining in decades, with production falling to just 1% of the global market as of last year. But as the world’s biggest producer of nuclear energy, its appetite for the element is without peer.
It’s no surprise that Canada, one of the world’s most active Uranium exporters, is one of our biggest suppliers.
One Canadian Uranium company that has gotten a good bit of attention from the hedge funds is the relatively small, NextGen Energy Ltd (NYSE: NXE).
Uranium Fuel Is At The Heart Of Every Nuclear Stock
NextGe currently oeprates the biggest development stage Uranium project in Canada, which says a lot as Canada was the world’s second biggest producer as recently as 2022.
With a $4B market cap, there’s plenty of room for growth, and decades of consistent demand in the offing.
But for those who want to really get in there and leverage this opportunity for maximum effect, there is a company out there that operates essentially alone.
As the sole U.S.-based nuclear fuel producer licensed to manufacture the kind of Uranium fuel that next-generation small modular reactors will run on, this company occupies a strategically advantageous position at a very unusual time in history.
Just this past spring, the U.S. finally swore off Russian Uranium, which accounted for almost ⅕ of our domestic Uranium supply.
Two of our other top-5 Uranium important partners, Uzbekistan and Uranium, account for another 30% of our annual supply, and sit firmly within Vladimir Putin’s sphere of influence.
Add this up and you come to one possible conclusion: The push for domestically produced Uranium, for our massive reactor fleet, is going to be a top priority in the next 5 years, regardless of who wins the White House this November.
The Purest Of The Nuclear Stock Pureplays?
As all of this takes place within the geopolitical sphere, the trend for decarbonization has taken hold of just about every industry.
Nuclear, despite what the committed tree-huggers may believe, is the only viable long term solution to the problem of carbon dioxide emissions.
More than wind and solar put together, nuclear has the capacity to power our civilization into the next stage of its evolution.
And the small modular reactor, which can be purposely built for smaller, more specific applications, will give the industry the flexibility and economic requirements to begin replacing fossil fuels on a mass scale.
That’s why the silicon valley giants are after it… And that’s why you should be too.
Just one thing that stands in the way of this mass adoption is the nuclear fuel bottleneck.
And that’s where this stock sits virtually alone. Fortune favors the bold, Alex Koyfman His flagship service, Microcap Insider, provides market-beating insights into some of the fastest moving, highest profit-potential companies available for public trading on the U.S. and Canadian exchanges. With more than 5 years of track record to back it up, Microcap Insider is the choice for the growth-minded investor. Alex contributes his thoughts and insights regularly to Energy and Capital. To learn more about Alex, click here.
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