On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders designed to reignite the U.S. nuclear energy sector. These orders instruct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to streamline the licensing process and cut regulatory red tape for new reactors and power plants—a timely move as U.S. electricity demand is forecast to reach record highs in 2025 and 2026, largely driven by the explosive growth of AI-powered data centers.
The U.S. now targets 5GW capacity additions by upgrades to existing reactors and 10 new reactors under construction by 2030 and a fourfold increase in nuclear capacity—to 400 GW—by 2050, a substantial leap from the tripling goal announced at COP28. However, the road ahead is steep. Only two new reactors have come online in the U.S. since 1978, each requiring a decade to build. Hitting the 2050 target would mean beginning construction on roughly 20 reactors per year by 2040—an unprecedented pace.
Enter Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)—compact, advanced nuclear technologies that offer faster deployment (three to five years), reduced costs (15% to 40% lower capex), and enhanced safety. Leading SMR developers like Nano Nuclear Energy, Sam Altman-backed Oklo, and NuScale Power saw their stocks soar on the policy announcement, reflecting investor optimism in SMRs as a scalable solution to America’s energy challenge.
And indeed, Tech giants including Google and Amazon that have been backing nuclear power and SMRs could jump on the opportunity to accelerate their new reactor deployments.
Remarkably, just one week before the executive orders were signed, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) became the first U.S. utility to submit a construction permit application for an SMR. TVA aims to bring its first advanced reactor—GE Hitachi’s BWRX-300—online by late 2032. This design adapts proven boiling water reactor technology into a smaller, more flexible format, with a key advantage: it runs on standard low-enriched uranium, unlike more experimental SMRs requiring scarce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU).
TVA is collaborating with GE Hitachi, Ontario Power Generation, and Synthos Green Energy to develop a standardized BWRX-300 design for use in the U.S., Canada, Poland, and beyond. TVA has also applied for an $800 million DOE grant to support the project.
The urgent power demands of AI infrastructure are now catalyzing a broader nuclear renaissance. As a result, uranium demand is back on a structural growth trajectory, and emerging technologies like SMRs are enabling a faster, cleaner energy buildout.
Markets responded swiftly to this new nuclear environment in the U.S last Friday. Shares of uranium producers, enrichment specialists and engineering companies such as Cameco, Uranium Energy, Centrus Energy and BWX Technologies surged on the news, reflecting renewed focus on domestic uranium production and enrichment. Nuclear-exposed utilities like Constellation Energy and Vistra also posted gains.
We still remain at a very early stage in this nuclear renaissance scenario in our view, suggesting that there’s still massive upside ahead as most countries around the world rediscover the benefits of nuclear energy.
Launched in mid-2024, our Powering AI certificate was created to provide focused exposure to the AI-driven energy infrastructure. Currently, over 30% of the portfolio is allocated to nuclear-related sub-segments, including engineering, mining, and utilities—offering strong exposure to the nuclear theme while retaining a good overall diversification.
