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How to Invest in the AI-Driven Nuclear Renaissance

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  • (1:30) - Breaking Down All The Recent Nuclear Power Deals
  • (9:20) - The Race For Commercial Nuclear Power: Small Modular Reactors and Nuclear Fusion
  • (16:15) - Why Are Uranium Prices So Volatile?
  • (22:35) - Sprott Uranium Miners ETF: URNM
  • (25:20) - What Is The Supply and Demand For Alternative Energy Materials?
  • (31:15) - Episode Roundup: CEG, VST, URA, SETM
  • Podcast@Zacks.com

 

In this episode of ETF Spotlight, I speak with John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management, about investing in the nuclear renaissance and the energy transition.

Last month, Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) announced a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy (CEG - Free Report) , the largest owner of nuclear power plants in the US. As part of the deal, Constellation will restart Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear reactor to generate the additional power needed for the tech giant’s data centers.

Google (GOOGL - Free Report) is also exploring how to bring electricity from nuclear power plants to its data centers, according to CEO Sundar Pichai in a recent interview.

Shares of Constellation and other nuclear power producers, such as Vistra (VST - Free Report) , which had already been surging this year, received an additional boost from the deal.

NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) CEO Jensen Huang expects that companies could spend up to $1 trillion over the next four years on data center infrastructure to meet the growing demand from AI applications.

Many tech giants, driven by sustainability goals, have pledged to use renewable energy to power their data centers and are increasingly exploring nuclear energy as a solution.

This surging demand has led to rising interest in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). Oracle (ORCL - Free Report) is designing a data center that would be powered by three small modular reactors, according to chairman Larry Ellison.

Nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, could offer a seemingly endless source of clean, carbon-free energy. However, fusion reactors designed to produce electricity are still in development and have yet to reach commercial viability.

While demand for uranium continues to rise, supply faces many challenges, and expanding it will take time. The Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (URNM - Free Report) and the Global X Uranium ETF (URA - Free Report) provide exposure to uranium and uranium mining companies.

In addition to uranium, other critical materials such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and lithium are essential for clean energy generation, battery storage, and energy transmission. For exposure to these materials, consider the Sprott Energy Transition Materials ETF (SETM - Free Report) .

Tune in to the podcast to learn more.

Make sure to be on the lookout for the next edition of ETF Spotlight! If you have any comments or questions, please email podcast@zacks.com.

 

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