Source: Cailian
Financial Union News Agency, August 31 (Editor, Xia Junxiong)Analysts pointed out that the Trump administration is promoting shareholding in companies in various industries, and the next potential target may be the nuclear energy industry.
The Trump administration has announced investment agreements with Intel and rare-earth manufacturer MP Materials, both of which involve government support for large-scale manufacturing projects in the country.
In July this year, MP Materials announced that the Pentagon would become its largest shareholder, with the company’s share price rising by 50 percent a day.
Following a deal with Intel earlier this month, U.S. President Trump and members of his administration hinted that this would be the beginning of a broader investment strategy.
A team led by Compass Point analyst Whitney Stanco said in a report that the U.S. Department of Energy recently established a new nuclear fuel alliance that paved the way for the Trump administration’s investment companies to establish a domestic enriched uranium supply system.
Stanco wrote: “Given the U.S. nuclear fuel industry’s interest in about $3.4 billion in federal funding from the Biden period, we think it could be the target of a similar future investment deal with the Trump administration.”
It is expected that in the coming weeks, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy will work with industry players to determine relevant enterprises and long-term goals.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has raised national security concerns about nuclear energy, as Russia is the world’s largest supplier of uranium.
According to the U.S. Nuclear Energy Office, Russia has about 44% of the world’s uranium enrichment capacity, and about 35% of U.S. nuclear fuel imports come from Russia.
At the same time, the surge in energy demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has also brought more attention to nuclear energy, and the cooperation between large technology companies and nuclear energy suppliers has put the industry in the spotlight.
This week, Bank of America included next-generation small nuclear reactor (SMR) builder Oklo in its rating for the first time and gave it a "buy" rating.
“Nuclear energy is regaining momentum with the support of the Ministry of Energy and data center operators, and Oklo has an advantage in meeting the growing energy demand for AI.”
Over the past year, Oklo’s stock price has surged by more than 1,000 percent, and investors are betting that nuclear energy will be part of an AI-themed transaction.