Shares of nuclear reactor makers hit highs amid Google and Amazon deals

The share prices of Oklo Inc and NuScale Power, US-listed developers of small modular nuclear reactors (SMR), rose 99% and 37% respectively after rivals X-energy and Kairos Power announced deals with Amazon and Google. Shares in Cameco, Oklo, NuScale, Constellation Energy and BWX Technologies traded at record levels last week, the FT writes.

The agreements call for the construction of up to 12 next-generation reactors that will supply low-carbon electricity to power-hungry data centers used by American IT giants for artificial intelligence.

Additionally, shares of Constellation Energy Group, which operates the largest fleet of conventional reactors in the United States, have more than doubled since the beginning of the year. The company signed a 20-year deal with Microsoft in September. At the same time, shares of uranium producer Cameco are up nearly 40% in 2024, and shares of nuclear components supplier BWX Technologies are up 65%.

Reactor manufacturers “have long said they would be needed to meet the electricity boom as artificial intelligence increases, but no one seemed to believe them,” said Seth Gray, director of nuclear fuel developer Lightbridge Corporation and president of the International American Nuclear Energy Council. Society.

On October 15, it became known that Google would be the first technology giant to use nuclear power plants to power its data centers. The company signed a contract with the startup Kairos Power to buy energy from small modular reactors.

Shortly after, Amazon signed a deal with Dominion Energy Virginia to build a small modular reactor near its existing nuclear power plant in Virginia. The company plans to invest more than $500 million in nuclear energy projects and has already announced three initiatives spanning areas from Virginia to Washington.