More sobering reports about the small nuclear reactor industry, now from the Financial Times. I posted about the Wall Street Journal’s recent reality check here.
In January, I posted similar assessments that appeared in the conservative financial paper Barrons. (If you don’t know Barrons, it makes the Wall Street Journal look like Rolling Stone.)
I’m not anti-nuclear, I’m pro reality.
We have to accelerate solar, wind and batteries not just for the birds, the bees, and our grandbabies, but also because we need to keep the lights on, and these are the lowest hanging fruit and nearest in the pipeline, full stop.
Short sellers have reaped large profits from betting against small modular nuclear reactor companies, as the collapse of the “hype cycle” that had sent their share prices soaring wipes billions off their market value.
Funds made an estimated $2.1bn shorting three stocks — US-listed NuScale Power, Nano Nuclear and Sam Altman-backed Oklo — over the past year, according to data provider S3 Partners.
The three companies, which are lossmaking and have little or no revenue, surged last year as investors raced to capitalise on growing interest in nuclear energy among AI hyperscalers looking for new sources of power. Regulatory changes and funding announcements from the Trump administration also helped the sector.
But a total of $30.3bn has been wiped off their collective market value since their peak in October last year amid growing concerns over the lack of immediate revenue and the long build-out timelines for the technology.
Only two commercial SMRs are currently operable — in Russia and China, with more than 80 designs in various stages of development.
A key test of investor appetite towards the nuclear sector is expected in the coming weeks, when Holtec International and Westinghouse, two US-based companies with SMR divisions, are expected to list.
