Investing in Nuclear energy - Point of View - Dan Dannenberg

The opportunity for Nuclear Power to be the answer to a growing electricity need is massive

• The global demand for electricity is expected to grow by 50% to 75% by 2050
• Nuclear is the only clean large-scale baseload electricity generation technology available today with almost no CO2 emission
• Since the 1980s, the need for more nuclear generation in the US and in Europe has been mostly addressed through life extensions and power uprates; both are slowing down

New levers are emerging to boost nuclear capacity growth and sustain the current nuclear renaissance

• A second nuclear renaissance is under way in Europe and in the US, recovering from the abrupt slowdown following the Fukushima disaster
• Leveraging existing plant designs is the first lever to address nuclear capacity growth
• Innovative designs are also being developed...
• ... and new non-utility players are entering the fray to secure power supply to their datacenters

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However, the road to the first kWh can be long, and to the first dollar of return even longer Regulations have been a major sticking point but are evolving

• Regulations have been a major sticking point, but are evolving
• Economics, construction times and resulting competitive position continue to be a challenge
• Value chain capabilities have decreased and need to be recovered
• The grid is a constraint and a bottleneck
• Public opinion on nuclear energy and waste is not always favorable

Investors in this multi-decade asset class with strong tailwinds need to make informed decisions on what type of actor to invest in, what geography to prioritize and what technology to focus on.

Emerton partners have advised investors and participants in the Nuclear sector supply chain for 30+ years through various projects such as overall corporate strategy, market scans and analysis, voice of customer, organizational design and NSSS redesign-to-cost.

If you want to know more, you can download the full white paper, or contact Dan Dannenberg.

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