Trump's Nuclear Push Meets Data Centre Demand One Year On

Trump's Nuclear Push Meets Data Centre Demand One Year On AI power needs are pulling capital into nuclear and energy storage stocks even as the administration's coal revival stalls on economics. Fluence Energy's stock surged 98% in a single week as capital rotated into companies that can supply power for AI data centre buildouts. The move reflects a broader market thesis: nuclear and renewable baseload generation offer the cleanest solutions to address power constraints that the AI expansion is creating.³ One year after Trump signed executive orders to boost nuclear energy and revive coal, the market is rendering its own verdict on which technologies will actually deliver. Nuclear is drawing capital. Coal is not. As projections of US electricity demand rise sharply, Trump used emergency powers in April 2025 to direct the Department of Energy to support coal-fired generation. But the economics have not cooperated. Even with federal backing, coal power remains expensive relative to alternatives.⁵ The nuclear story has more substance. The post-Fukushima cooling period is over. New decarbonisation initiatives, safer reactor designs, and the explosive growth of AI, cloud, and data centre markets have revived interest in nuclear as a baseload power source. Analysts at Citi expect uranium prices to climb as high as $125 per pound this year as resurgent interest in nuclear energy drives demand to outstrip supply.⁴ Fluence Energy sits at the intersection of data centre demand and grid-scale energy storage. The company reported a record backlog and signed new master supply agreements with two major hyperscalers, expanding into the data centre energy storage market. Management reaffirmed its 2026 revenue target of approximately $3.2 billion to $3.6 billion, citing strong visibility with 85% of the midpoint already contracted.² The operational picture is mixed. Despite a Q2 revenue miss, adjusted gross margins improved. Supply chain disruptions that had delayed approximately $80 million in shipments are resolving. Analysts expect the deferred revenue to bolster upcoming quarterly results as delivery schedules return to normal.² But dilution tempers the enthusiasm. In mid-May, Fluence announced a secondary offering of 20 million Class A shares by existing holders. The stock's 52-week range of $4.40 to $33.51 speaks to the volatility that comes with a company trading at 8.7 times book value while still reporting net losses.^1,2 Trump's war on renewables has not halted the capital rotation into clean energy infrastructure. Energy Innovation, a think tank, reckons that even without additional federal support, the underlying economics favour nuclear and battery storage for meeting data centre demand. The administration may not want to fuel even higher energy prices, which could be the most compelling restraint on its most aggressive policy impulses.⁶ Japan's experience adds a cautionary note. Despite nuclear energy making a comeback from the post-Fukushima era and enjoying renewed government favour, a major challenge hangs over the sector. Long-term nuclear waste disposal remains unresolved, stymying efforts for growth. The question of where to store spent fuel is as much a political problem as a technical one.⁷ For uranium miners, the demand signal is clear. Cameco's revenue and adjusted EBITDA are projected to grow at compound annual rates of 8% and 12% respectively from 2025 to 2028. The supply side is tighter. Years of underinvestment in new uranium production during the post-Fukushima decade left the market structurally short.⁴ The AI power collision is accelerating the timeline. Data centres need reliable, round-the-clock generation. Solar and wind can contribute, but baseload nuclear fills the gap that intermittent sources cannot. The hyperscaler agreements that Fluence signed signal where the money is moving. The next signal to watch is whether uranium spot prices breach the $125 per pound level Citi analysts have targeted, and whether Fluence's Q3 results confirm the revenue catch-up from delayed shipments. The nuclear thesis is being tested with real capital, not just policy rhetoric.^4,2