Picking Your Horses in the Atomic Race
So, how might one get exposure to this trend without having to personally fund a reactor? Well, you have to look at the whole supply chain. It starts with the fuel. Companies like Cameco, one of the world’s largest uranium producers, are the ones digging the necessary stuff out of the ground. If more countries build reactors, it stands to reason they will need more uranium. It’s a classic picks and shovels play, really.
Then you have the technology itself. The old model of building gigantic, one-off power stations is looking a bit dated. The new buzz is all about Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs. Think of them as the flat-pack furniture of the nuclear world. Companies like NuScale Power are pioneering these smaller, factory-built units that could make nuclear power more accessible and affordable for countries with smaller grids. It’s a compelling idea, though one that still has to prove itself at scale.
And let’s not forget the crucial middle step, enrichment. Raw uranium is quite useless. It needs to be processed in highly specialised facilities, a service provided by companies like Centrus Energy. This creates a significant bottleneck in the supply chain, which can be a rather advantageous position to be in.
