Amid a global renaissance in interest in nuclear power, the United States and other nations have set a goal of tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050.
The world is expected to need ever more electricity to power energy-hungry artificial intelligence data centers, the electrification of many global industries and a growing global middle class aiming to lift living standards with convenient appliances.
[Sign up for stock news with our Invested newsletter.]
Wind and solar can’t accommodate all of that right now, so much of the heavy lifting for stable baseload power is expected to come from natural gas and nuclear reactors. This has prompted a resurgence of interest in nuclear power after a disaster in Japan in 2011 put a deep chill on the sector.
“Tailwinds include energy security concerns given elevated geopolitical tensions, a continued shift in government policy to be more supportive of nuclear, and sustained investment in, and partnership with, nuclear companies by the world’s largest corporations,” says Coulter Regal, product manager with VanEck, which offers the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (ticker: NLR).
Indeed, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Google and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) all want nuclear power to run data centers.
To aid in this, the administration of President Donald Trump has issued orders to fast track the U.S. nuclear industry, which also has policy support from the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.
“This shift in policy is indeed significant, and we’re seeing institutional investments flowing toward companies that can deliver real nuclear energy — actual kilowatt-hours, rather than just promising reactor designs,” says John Murillo, chief business officer of B2BROKER, a global fintech solutions provider for financial institutions.
With that in mind, here’s a look at five top nuclear stocks and funds to buy today:
— BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT)
— NuScale Power Corp. (SMR)
— Centrus Energy Corp. (LEU)
— VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR)
— Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF (NUKZ)
BWX Technologies Inc. (BWXT)
This nuclear solutions company is involved in building power systems for U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers and cleaning up government nuclear sites.
“BWXT has gained a spotlight in recent news due to its advanced fuel production,” Murillo says. “This stock is a direct play on nuclear fuel and SMR tech.”
SMR stands for “small modular reactors” and represents the next generation of nuclear power generation alongside micro reactors, advanced enrichment methods and new fuel types.
“While others are only at the concept stages of their respective advanced nuclear fuel technologies, enhancing reactor efficiency and safety and testing their respective nuclear fuel solutions, BWXT already delivers,” Murillo says.
NuScale Power Corp. (SMR)
NuScale is also involved with small modular reactors.
It designs and markets these next-generation reactors and says its technology can generate 77 megawatts of electricity per reactor and can be scaled up to more than 900 megawatts.
The design is smaller than a traditional nuclear reactor and can be used to replace retiring coal plants and provide baseload power.
NuScale has U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission certification for one of its designs, giving it a foothold in the emerging nuclear renaissance.
“Advancing nuclear technology, via SMRs, will … expand use cases, improve safety and increase the pace of nuclear power installment,” Regal says.
[SEE: 7 Clean Energy ETFs to Buy Now]
Centrus Energy Corp. (LEU)
Current large reactors use low-enriched uranium to produce electricity. Advanced reactors and more than half of the designs for small modular reactors in development use a more concentrated form of uranium called high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), according to the World Nuclear Association.
Centrus is the only company in the U.S. with a license to make HALEU, and it has been producing small quantities.
With this license and manufacturing experience, Centrus is well positioned to make the fuel for a growing number of advanced reactors, small modular reactors and micro reactors. HALEU can also be used in conventional reactors.
VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NLR)
Investors who want to spread out the risk with a more diversified investment than single stocks can consider ETFs, which trade under a single ticker symbol but contain a basket of equities.
This ETF invests in uranium mining companies; companies that build, engineer and maintain nuclear power facilities and reactors; companies involved in the production of electricity from nuclear sources; and companies that provide equipment, technology or services to the nuclear power industry.
Regal says a comprehensive approach like this fund would best serve investors looking for access to the nuclear industry “given the broad scope of companies operating in the nuclear energy industry, as well as the rapid changes taking place within nuclear in terms of shifts in global government policy, corporate investments and advancing technology.”
This fund has an expense ratio of 0.56%, or $56 per year for every $10,000 invested.
Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF (NUKZ)
ETFs can also be a good idea for investors who want exposure to development-stage companies that have a high potential for reward but are also very risky, such as AI executive Sam Altman-backed advanced nuclear fission startup Oklo Inc. (OKLO) that has garnered headlines after going public via a special-purpose acquisition company.
Like the VanEck ETF, this fund has Oklo as one of its holdings and is diversified along the nuclear supply chain, giving investors exposure to companies involved in advanced reactors, utilities, construction, services and fuel.
Both of these funds include utility companies, which can give them a defensive tinge. Utilities are unlikely to outperform growth stocks during times of economic expansion and stock market optimism. But when the tide turns and economic uncertainty increases, utilities can act as a portfolio cushion because houses and businesses need electricity year-round, regardless of economic conditions.
That stability comes with the downside that these ETFs won’t likely perform as well as a single stock that hits it big.
One consideration with the Range Nuclear Renaissance ETF is that it is less liquid than the Van Eck offering, which means buy or sell orders may take longer than you’d like. NUKZ has an average one-month volume around 160,000 shares per day while NLR’s is around 370,000 daily shares traded.
NUKZ has an expense ratio of 0.85%.
More from U.S. News
6 of the Best AI ETFs to Buy for 2025
7 Best Long-Term ETFs to Buy and Hold
6 Up-and-Coming Stocks to Buy in 2025
5 Best Nuclear Energy Stocks and ETFs to Buy Now originally appeared on usnews.com
