Smale Scale Nukes
by Debra Fiakas CFA The on-going crisis at one of Japan’s key nuclear power plants following earthquake and tsunami damage has everyone, even proponents of nuclear energy on edge. Previous nuclear accidents, such as the disasters at Russia’s Chernobyl reactor and the U.S.’s Three Mile Island, were traced back to human error. Now it appears regulators and operators of Japan’s Fukushima plant may have had some awareness that the plant design could not withstand the onslaught of a major tsunami. Again better human performance may have averted the situation that now threatens a breach of a reactor core. Designers...
Watch This Nuclear Player Boil
by Debra Fiakas CFA The last post on Chicago Bridge and Iron (CBI: NYSE) noted the entrance of CBI into the nuclear field with the acquisition of The Shaw Group, which has an exclusive relationship with Toshiba Corporation related to the Toshiba Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR). More evolutionary than revolutionary the ABWR is supposed to be superior other designs in its light water reactor class. ABWR produces power by superheating water to the boiling point. The resulting steam is then used to drive a turbine attached to a generator. Other light water reactors also heat...
Yankee Graphite
Several graphite developers have made plans to integrate forward into the hottest segment of the market - battery-grade graphite. According to Industrial Minerals, spherical graphite suitable for lithium ion battery anodes is priced in a range of $2,700 to $2,800 per metric ton in China where many battery manufacturers are located. This compares quite well to the range of about $655 to $790 per metric ton for flake graphite concentrate.
The integration strategy has sent the sector into a frenzy of activity to prove their graphite meets expectations of battery manufacturers. The only graphite deposit in the U.S. mainland is under development by Westwater Resources...
Admin Reviews Fuel Production To Mixed Nuclear Reactions
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
The U.S. Administration took a swing at the uranium ball, but it is not clear if it was a miss and strike out or just a walk. Some in the uranium industry are applauding a decision by the Trump Administration on the January 2018 petition by U.S. uranium producers Energy Fuels (UUUU: NYSE) and Ur-energy (URG: NYSE), requesting protection from uranium imports. The U.S. Commerce Department had investigated the petition under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act. No new trade restrictions are being implemented at this time, but the Administration is establishing a working group to analyze U.S. nuclear fuel production. A report...
Nations in Nuclear Play And The Companies To Benefit
by Debra Fiakas
Saudi Arabia plans to build 17.8 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2032, requiring about sixteen reactors. It is an ambitious plan and one that could have a significant impact on the nuclear power construction industry. Now the Saudi government is moving forward with a bidding process with nuclear power plant construction companies. Bids are expected before the end of 2018 and signing of contracts will be sometime in 2019.
Our review of possible bidders began with Toshiba’s (6502: Tokyo) Westinghouse Electric Company and Russia’s Rosatom Group. The last two posts, “Saudi Arabia Goes Nuclear” on January 16th and “Answering Saudi Arabia Request...
An uNclear Future
25 years on from Chernobyl: Nuclear’s unclear future, and the on-going renaissance for alternative energy stocks Karl L. Mitchell, Ph.D. Summary On April 26th, 1986, the world’s worst nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in northern Ukraine. The blast spewed a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe, causing many hundreds of thousands to flee from their homes in Ukraine, Belarus and western Russia. 25 years later we are facing the only other level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale; at Fukushima, Japan. Although less immediately catastrophic, it has resulted in...
Book Review: Public Meltdown
Ben Plotzker The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. The focus on the public’s view of nuclear plant operator Entergy (NYSE:ETR) sets Public Meltdown: The Story of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, by Richard Watts apart from other nuclear energy books. The book avoids pro or anti-nuclear positions, and focus on scientific aspects of the plant, and instead tells the story of one nuclear plant’s journey through history. That plant is Vermont Yankee, a General Electric (GE) boiling water reactor type, the same...
Lightbridge Flirts with Areva
by Debra Fiakas CFA Last week nuclear fuel developer Lightbridge Corporation (LTBR: Nasdaq) announced an agreement with nuclear power plant builder Areva (AREVA: Paris; ARVCF: OTC/QB) to form a joint venture. The present pact is a precursor to a formal joint venture agreement that would team up the two companies - one very large multinational nuclear power house and one still quite small fuel developer - in joint development of Lightbridge’s metallic nuclear fuel technology. Lightbridge has developed and patented a novel design that replaces conventional tubes filled with ceramic uranium pellets now used by pressurized...
Four Green Money Managers’ Top Stock Picks
Green money managers' stock picks after the Japanese nuclear crisis. Even as the nuclear disaster in Japan unfolds, it's clear that the world's energy industry will be forever changed. Russian reactors were never considered safe, but a Japanese to have a nuclear meltdown is an entirely different story. Market Reaction Since Monday, nuclear stocks and ETFs have been plummeting. As of Wednesday night, The Market Vectors Uranium + Nuclear Energy ETF (NYSE:NLR), the iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index (NASD:NUCL), PowerShares Global Nuclear Energy Portfolio ETF (NYSE:PKN), and the Global X Uranium ETF (NYSE:URA) are down...
Yellow Cake Debut
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
Investors have a new opportunity for a stake in nuclear power. Last week a successful initial offering was staged by a new player in the uranium supply chain. Yellow Cake, plc. (YCA: LON) sold 76 million shares at £200 per share, raising £151 million (US$200 million). Uranium Participation Corporation (U: TO)took US$25 million of the deal, giving the Canada-based uranium speculator a 16% stake in the company. Yellow Cake is listed on AIM under the symbol YCA. In its third day of trading the stock closed up 1.25% from its debut.
Yellow Cake means to be a player in the uranium market, buying and...
NuScale’s Small Nuclear Reactors Land A Big Investor
by Debra Fiakas, CFA
NuScale Power is in a new pact with South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co. to support development of NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR). In addition to direct investment of $40 million in NuScale, Doosan has agreed to provide parts and equipment for the innovative nuclear power reactor valued at a total of $1.2 billion.
NuScale has been working on its power reactor for several years. The new design is based on pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology that has been used to power nuclear submarines and naval vessels. The design uses ordinary water as a coolant rather than ‘heavy’ water used by...
List of Nuclear Energy Stocks
Nuclear energy stocks are publicly traded companies that develop, own, or manage nuclear power plants or the technology and equipment used in such plants.
This list was last updated on 2/10/2022.
Ameren Corp (AEE)
Areva (ARVCF)
Assystem SA (ASY.PA)
Brookfield Business Partners (BBU)
BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT)
Cameco Corporation (CCJ)
Centrus Energy Corp (LEU)
China General Nuclear (1816.HK)
Dominion Energy Inc (D)
Duke Energy Corp (DUK)
Electricite de France S.A. (EDF.PA, US ADR: ECIFY, US OTC: ECIFF)
Exelon Corp. (EXC)
FirstEnergy Corp (FE)
Fluor Corporation (FLR)
Fortum Oyj (FORTUM.HE)
General Electric (GE)
Global Power Equipment (GLPW)
Global X Uranium ETF (URA)
GSE Systems, Inc. (GVP)
Hitachi, Ltd. (6501.T, HTHIF, HTHIY)
IBC Advanced Alloys Corp (IAALF)
International Isotopes (INIS)
Kansai Electric Power Co Inc...
Nuclear Stocks: Too Hot for an Eco Portfolio?
Guest Author Nuclear energy is not the “bad boy” it once was For many years, nuclear energy was labelled as a potential threat to the environment as well as the global population. Interestingly enough, the memories of the disasters at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island are now distant and the perspective of nuclear energy is changing in positive fashion. The growing worries created by the ballooning demands on the world’s energy sources, an increase in the competition for energy supplies, rising concerns regarding global warming, and the volatility of the gas and oil prices are reasons that...
Light at the End of the Tunnel for Lightbridge
by Debra Fiakas CFA The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to execute on the Clean Power Plan aimed at reducing carbon emissions from U.S. power generation facilities. Each state has to meet a set of standards set by the EPA based that state’s particular circumstances in electrical generation. The carbon pollution limits begin in 2022 and ramp to full effect by 2030. In the meantime, the power generation industry must begin preparation in order to be ready for the initial standards. The lower-carbon emitting power sources will clearly be in favor as a consequence of the...
Clean Energy Stocks to Fill the Nuclear Gap
Tom Konrad, CFA If the Japanese use less nuclear power, what will take its place? I'm astounded by the resilience and discipline of the Japanese people in response to the three-pronged earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, perhaps in large part by my cultural roots in the egocentric United States, where we seem to have forgotten the virtue of self-sacrifice for the greater good. Yet while Japanese society has shown itself to be particularly resilient, the Japanese electric grid is much less resilient. According to International Energy Agency statistics, Japan produced 258 TWh of electricity from...
Flocking to Uranium
The post Yellow Cake Debut described the capital raising effort of one of the newest players in the uranium supply chain. Yellow Cake leadership brought the aspiring intermediary to the capital market at a critical time for uranium producers. The uranium market has been in an extended trough period since the industry peak in 2007. At that time considerable development had been undertaken and capacity was beginning to generate sufficient supply to create stockpiled inventories. As this bloated condition persisted, in 2011 the nuclear power and its uranium supply chain were shocked by a Pacific Ocean tsunami that led to a nuclear spill at...
