Uranium stocks have rallied as news circulated that the United States government has struck a strategic partnership with Westinghouse Electric, Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management to build at least US$80 billion (A$122.1 billion) in large nuclear reactors nationwide.
During a visit to Tokyo, Trump announced that Japan will provide up to $332 billion to support U.S. energy infrastructure, including the deployment of plants and small modular reactors.
Under the deal, the federal government will arrange financing and help secure permits for the plants that will use Westinghouse AP1000 reactors.
In return, Washington would be granted a participation interest, allowing it to receive 20% of any cash distributions in excess of $17.5 billion made by Westinghouse.
Each two-unit Westinghouse AP1000 project creates or sustains 45,000 manufacturing and engineering jobs in 43 states, while a national rollout will generate more than 100,000 construction positions.
The agreement represents the first major commercial implementation of President Trump's four nuclear energy executive orders signed on 23 May 2025, which set ambitious targets to quadruple U.S. atomic capacity to 400 gigawatts by 2050.
The collaboration comes as artificial intelligence data centres boost U.S. electricity consumption for the first time in two decades, with Goldman Sachs Research projecting server farm power requirements to surge more than 160% by 2030 compared to 2023 levels.
"This historic partnership with America's leading nuclear company will help unleash President Trump's grand vision to fully energise America and win the global AI race," said Chris Wright, Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy.
The atomic energy push addresses a critical infrastructure bottleneck identified by analysts.
"Growth from AI, broader data demand, and a deceleration of power efficiency gains is leading to a power surge from data centres," wrote a Goldman Sachs utilities research analyst.
Goldman Sachs Research forecasts 85-90 GW of new nuclear capacity would be needed to meet all computing facility power requirements expected by 2030, though well less than 10% will be available globally by then.
"Our conversations with renewable developers indicate that wind and solar could serve roughly 80% of a data centre's electricity needs if paired with storage, but some sort of baseload generation is needed to meet the 24/7 demand," Goldman Sachs said.
Trump's May executive orders established a framework for the nuclear renaissance, for:
- Accelerating Nuclear Regulatory Commission reforms to streamline reactor licensing and set goals for 10 large units under construction by 2030
- Deploying advanced nuclear facilities at military installations and AI server farms for national security
- Reinvigorating the nuclear industrial base through expanded domestic uranium production and fuel cycle capabilities
- Implementing Gold Standard Science to rebuild public trust in the national science enterprise
Uranium rallies
The uranium market experienced a V-shaped recovery in 2025, with mining stocks plunging 30% from January through early April before rebounding 60% from their lows through 11 consecutive weeks of gains.
"September saw uranium markets ignite as fresh capital flowed in, sentiment turned sharply positive and supply tightened, fuelling the next leg of the uranium bull market," wrote Jacob White, ETF product manager at Sprott Asset Management, in an October report.
The uranium spot price recovered from $63.25 per pound in March to reach $83.18 by the end of September, driven by supply constraints, including Cameco cutting its 2025 production guidance from 18 million to 14-15 million pounds.
Uranium Energy Corp surged 24.8% in September alone, with H.C. Wainwright raising its price target from $12.75 to $19.75, whilst the VanEck Uranium and Nuclear Technologies ETF saw assets under management double from $500 million to over $1 billion during Q3.
However, building new U.S. atomic plants has historically been challenging due to soaring costs and public concern about potential accidents and waste disposal.
Cameco shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange closed up C$27.72, or 22.8%, at C$148.98 following the announcement.
Uranium stocks on the ASX have jumped significantly in intraday trading, with Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN) up 12% and Boss Energy (ASX: BOE) flying up a whopping 17%.
