NuScale Joins TVA in 6 GW SMR Programme as Nuclear Stocks Whipsaw on AI Power Demand

NuScale Joins TVA in 6 GW SMR Programme as Nuclear Stocks Whipsaw on AI Power Demand NuScale advanced a groundbreaking SMR project while Oklo surged 186% year to date, but Monday's selloff hit nuclear names for nearly 10% in a single session. NuScale Power joined TVA and ENTRA1 Energy in advancing a 6 GW small modular reactor programme designed to deliver carbon-free power across TVA's seven-state region, the company announced. The project would be one of the largest SMR deployments ever attempted, and the partnership with a major federal utility gives NuScale a commercial anchor that earlier SMR proposals lacked.⁶ The nuclear sector is experiencing one of its biggest revivals in decades. Surging demand for clean, reliable power and advances in small reactor designs have breathed new life into an industry that many had written off. Growing demand from AI data centres has added urgency. Capital is rotating into energy companies that can supply baseload power for hyperscaler buildouts, with nuclear and renewable generation attracting buyers as the cleanest solutions.^4,1 The equity moves have been violent in both directions. Oklo, the Santa Clara-based advanced reactor developer, has gained 186% year to date and 593% over the past twelve months. But on Monday, Oklo shares dropped 9.38%. NuScale's stock, traded under the ticker SMR, fell by over 9% in the same session. Several nuclear names lost close to 10% on the day.³ The selloff came after the DeepSeek AI efficiency news temporarily rattled the power demand thesis. In retrospect, that pullback proved to be a buying opportunity, with some nuclear names gaining over 100% year to date. The pattern has been consistent: sharp dips on demand uncertainty, sharp recoveries once the market reassesses the scale of AI infrastructure buildout.³ NuScale's 6 GW TVA programme puts concrete numbers on a thesis that has mostly traded on speculation. Six gigawatts of SMR capacity across a seven-state service territory would generate substantial uranium fuel demand over a multi-decade operating life. The question is execution timeline. Nuclear construction has a troubled track record in the United States.⁶ Georgia's Vogtle units 3 and 4 illustrate the risk. The twin reactors approached completion six years late and 250% over budget, according to a recent filing by the Municipal Energy Authority of Georgia. The project has not been a good advertisement for new nuclear construction in the US. Any SMR programme will be measured against Vogtle's cost overruns.⁷ China is moving faster. Beijing aims to increase its share of electricity produced by nuclear plants from around 5% today to 18% by 2060. Fourth-generation reactors are being developed for industrial heat applications in sectors like chemical manufacturing, beyond power generation. China's pace of reactor construction puts American SMR timelines in context.⁵ On the supply side, Cameco's operations have produced 567.9 million pounds of uranium from the world's largest high-grade mine and mill. Its Cigar Lake facility, the highest-grade deposit globally, has produced more than 155 million pounds since going online in 2015. These are the incumbents that any new uranium demand must flow through.² The broader energy storage market is drawing capital from adjacent sectors. Fluence Energy surged 98.2% in a single week after disclosing master supply agreements with two hyperscalers and a record $5.6 billion backlog. Q1 2026 delivered positive adjusted EBITDA of $2.0 million, the fourth consecutive profitable quarter. Nuclear and battery storage are competing for the same AI-driven demand, but serving different roles in the generation stack.¹ The next signal for NuScale is whether the TVA programme moves from announcement to construction timeline. Six gigawatts of SMR capacity would be transformational if built, but Vogtle's 250% cost overrun is the precedent every investor has in mind.^6,7