Technology giants are beginning to go all in on nuclear energy. Is it just the beginning?
What’s happening:
- Multiple large publicly traded technology conglomerates have been making new deals focused on nuclear energy, which is a significant paradigm shift for the future of the global energy transition and low carbon power
Why it matters:
- Nuclear energy represents one of the most important sources of zero carbon electricity which is especially relevant for technology companies who are ramping up investments into data centres and artificial intelligence cloud computing which will both require meaningful amounts of constant power to operate
Who is making moves:
- Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) recently announced a groundbreaking deal with Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG) to restart historic nuclear power plant Three Mile Island
- Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) previously purchased a data centre campus in Pennsylvania that is powered by the Susquehanna nuclear power plant which is operated by Talen Energy (NASDAQ: TLN)
Going deeper:
- OpenAI co-founder and technology venture capitalist Sam Altman is also one of the largest shareholders of fast fission company Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) who notably is collaborating with the United States Department of Energy to build the first ever American fast fission power plant located in Idaho
- Bill Gates founded nuclear energy company TerraPower also previously began construction in Wyoming of their next generation nuclear power plant, which was the recipient of the largest loan ever granted from the United States Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program to a private company
Market reaction:
- Since the start of the year, shares of Talen Energy are up +173% and shares of Constellation Energy are up +141%
The intrigue:
- While Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) hasn’t yet launched any formal deals or partnerships around nuclear energy, they have been exploring different renewable energy sources to power their new data centres including geothermal energy
