Future of nuclear energy looks bright

The clean energy transition has unlocked a new class of buyers — decarbonization focused, load heavy and willing to pay for long-term certainty. Think: hyperscalers, petrochemical firms, industrial heat users and yes, even some progressive utilities. Today, data-center operators are engaging directly with nuclear developers. These buyers aren’t waiting for utilities or state-level IRPs. Their demand is growing faster than the grid can respond, and their energy needs — high reliability, always on and increasingly carbon constrained — align almost perfectly with small modular reactor (SMR) designs. Developers are increasingly looking at these customers, not traditional utilities, to anchor first-of-their-kind deployments. This isn’t theoretical. One of the SMR developers that’s furthest along has confirmed active discussions with hyperscalers and is working with a project developer to line up a pipeline of commercial offtakers. Other developers have similarly cited strong data-center interest, driven by the urgency to secure long-term, clean baseload power. According to a recent analysis, hyperscalers are now driving up to 40% of global electricity demand growth with data centers, and this is expected to rise as AI adoption and data-storage needs skyrocket. As AI applications, including generative models, continue to expand, data centers’ energy demand will likely exceed 500 TWh/year by 2027 – that’s greater than the electricity demand of France!

What’s driving this demand, you may ask? Next-generation designs are reshaping how nuclear fits into the grid. We’re no longer talking about slow, baseload-only plants. Sodium fast reactors with integrated thermal storage can ramp at gas-turbine speeds, offering flexible, dispatchable output. Several utilities and developers are modeling how advanced nuclear can balance renewables and improve grid stability. Nuclear is now being designed to complement — not just coexist with — wind, solar and storage. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has long been a gating factor for new technologies, but there’s real progress. The Part 52 combined license (COLA) process is becoming the preferred pathway for developers seeking more predictable timelines. There’s also broader momentum behind shifting to a safety-case-first, tech-inclusive licensing framework. This shift, while still evolving, is significant: the speed of the application for the Natrium reactor has been a tangible sign of progress, with the company aiming for commercial operation by 2030. We think this and The Advance Act could streamline approvals, providing a more predictable pathway for SMR developers to get their designs into the market.

We argue that one of the most overlooked nuclear advantages is real estate. Retired coal plants —already grid tied, water cooled  and located in pro-nuclear towns — are emerging as ideal SMR sites. Utilities estimate over $100 million in savings per site by reusing transmission and existing infrastructure. Several SMR companies are explicitly targeting these sites. A four-to-six-module SMR plant can often match the output of a retiring coal plant, slotting into existing site boundaries without requiring major changes to evacuation planning or workforce retraining. Some major utilities are actively exploring these conversions across their footprint.

While tech and siting are moving forward, fuel remains the choke point. Every advanced reactor depends on high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), and currently Russia is the only commercial supplier. U.S. capacity exists on paper, but even the most advanced efforts are 3–4 years from full-scale commercial output. The stakes are high: whoever controls HALEU supply will hold disproportionate leverage over SMR deployment. Even reactors using traditional LEU will benefit from clearer enrichment and contracting frameworks. Reactor restarts like Three Mile Island, Palisades and Diablo Canyon require initial core loads equivalent to 2–3 years of fuel. Hence, we may still be underestimating uranium demand. These demand spikes, coupled with China’s accelerating reactor buildout and shifting U.S. contracting trends, suggest the market’s assumptions may be due for a rethink.