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Written by Courtney Carlsen for The Motley Fool->
Oklo's advanced microreactors, known as Aurora Powerhouses, are designed to utilize used nuclear fuel.
NuScale Power is the only small modular reactor developer with a standard design approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
GE Vernova is an established power company developing its own BWRX-300 small modular reactors, with a project underway in Canada.
As demand for energy grows, nuclear energy is making a powerful resurgence. In the United States, lawmakers have their sights set on quadrupling the country's nuclear energy capacity by 2050 and are taking steps to accelerate the deployment of next-generation nuclear reactors, such as small modular reactors and microreactors.
With the rapid rise in energy demand from hyperscalers, companies are increasingly turning to next-generation nuclear technology to meet their growing power needs. For investors eager to get ahead of the curve, here are three nuclear energy stocks worth paying attention to right now.
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Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) is an early-stage nuclear energy company that develops advanced microreactors using liquid-metal-cooled fast-fission technology, called Aurora Powerhouses. Its microreactor technology is based on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II, which operated for 30 years at the Idaho National Laboratory before being decommissioned in 1994 due to funding constraints.
The company's Aurora Powerhouse is designed to be inherently safe, provides between 15 megawatts electric (MWe) and 75 MWe, and relies on standardized factory fabrication to make it easy to build and deploy. Because of its compact design, Oklo's powerhouse appeals to industrial or data center customers who require reliable baseload power without the complexities of building a traditional nuclear power plant.
Oklo is seeing stellar demand, with its customer pipeline growing to approximately 18,100 MWe. Over the past couple of years, it has secured a 1.2-gigawatt data center campus deal with Meta Platforms, a 12-gigawatt master agreement with Switch, along with letters of intent from Equinix and Diamondback Energy.
In addition to its Aurora Powerhouse, Oklo is building its own fuel fabrication facility in Idaho and an Advanced Fuel Center in Tennessee to recycle used nuclear fuel. Oklo uses fast-fission technology, enabling it to extract additional energy from used nuclear fuel and convert nuclear waste into a long-term fuel supply.
One caveat is that the company's technology won't be operational for at least a couple of years. The company is hoping to begin operations of its Aurora Powerhouse in Idaho as soon as late 2027 or early 2028. Meanwhile, its Advanced Fuel Center in Tennessee won't begin producing fuel until the early 2030s.
The company's technology is exciting, but investors buying today must be willing to tolerate high capital spending, zero near-term revenue, and inevitable growing pains over the next several years.
NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) enjoys a first-mover advantage as the first and only small modular reactor (SMR) developer to receive a Standard Design Approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In May 2025, the NRC approved NuScale's uprated 77-megawatt design, making it the only nuclear technology certified by the NRC for off-grid, behind-the-meter applications.
NuScale has one firm deal under its belt: the RoPower project in Doicești, Romania. In February, this project received a Final Investment Decision, gaining approval from shareholders and the Romanian government. The project will start with one module initially, scaling up to six if successful, with operations targeted to start in 2033.
Beyond this, NuScale is looking to secure more firm orders. The company has partnered with ENTRA1 and, last year, entered into a non-binding collaborative agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The historic deal would see 6 gigawatts in new capacity (roughly 72 NuScale Power Modules). TVA still has to make a final investment decision for the project.
While its ENTRA1 partnership could bring landmark deals like the TVA project to the table, NuScale's partnership milestones agreement requires it to pay massive upfront cash contributions to ENTRA1 at specific stages. For example, the non-binding TVA agreement alone triggered a massive $507 million expense for NuScale, which investors have heavily scrutinized.
Like Oklo, NuScale's technology could revolutionize the way nuclear energy is deployed. That said, the company has yet to enter into a binding agreement beyond its RoPower project. Investors will want to pay close attention to developments with the TVA and would also like to see whether the company can secure deals with major hyperscalers.
For investors seeking a more established company developing advanced nuclear reactors, look no further than GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV). GE Vernova's installed equipment generates roughly 25% of the world's electricity. Recently, utilities have been buying gas turbines at record levels, giving them strong pricing power and massive margin expansion.
For this reason, GE Vernova benefits in the near term from robust demand for its turbines, which gives it the capital to develop its own BWRX-300 small modular reactors in collaboration with Japan-based Hitachi.
What sets GE Vernova's SMR apart is that it is beyond the design phase and is actively building its first commercial BWRX-300 SMR plant at the Darlington site in Ontario, Canada. Its project at Ontario Power Generation's site is the only commercial SMR under construction in North America. Ontario Power applied for an operating license in March 2026, and the first unit is expected to come online by 2029.
In addition, GE Vernova has also entered a binding collaboration and planning agreement with TVA. In December 2025, the Department of Energy awarded TVA a $400 million grant specifically to accelerate the deployment of the BWRX-300 at Clinch River. TVA submitted a construction permit application to the NRC in May 2025; the NRC expects to complete its safety and environmental review by December of this year.
Management noted that nuclear was a drag on the power segment's 2025 margins, and they expect 2026 results to be similar. With that said, GE Vernova is an appealing power stock, given near-term demand for its gas turbines and the opportunity to benefit from the surge in advanced nuclear reactors slated to come online by the 2030s.
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Courtney Carlsen has positions in GE Vernova. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Equinix, GE Vernova, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool recommends Hitachi and NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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