3 Powerful Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy in May

Nuclear energy is experiencing a $10 trillion renaissance. At least that's the case, according to experts at Bank of America.

"[N]uclear energy has, in many ways, been recently 'rediscovered' amid surging electricity demand," a recent report from the bank concluded. "Compared with other energy sources, it offers reliable baseload power, a smaller carbon footprint, and a higher energy return on investment."

Want to capitalize on this emerging $10 trillion opportunity? There are three nuclear stocks you should strongly consider. The last one might surprise you.

1. NuScale Power

Out of all the nuclear stocks on this list, NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) arguably has the most long-term upside potential. That's largely helped by its relatively small market cap of just $4.1 billion. But the company is also developing a novel form of nuclear power using small modular reactors, or SMRs.

"If commercialized, SMRs would offer five major advantages over conventional, large-scale nuclear power plants," says Bank of America's research team. Those advantages include lower upfront costs, enhanced safety (at least on paper), modularization, smaller footprints, and reduced CO2 production.

Note that Bank of America doesn't see the SMR opportunity emerging at scale until 2030 or 2035, but much of that is simply a function of how long these systems take to build. But if you're looking to bet on nuclear, SMR stocks like NuScale offer unique and exciting potential.

Image source: Getty Images.

2. Oklo Inc.

Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO) is another SMR stock, with a market cap still under $20 billion. The main difference between Oklo and NuScale Power lies in each company's go-to-market strategy. NuScale is focused mostly on utility-scale deployments, as evidenced by its 6-gigawatt project with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Oklo, meanwhile, is focused more on smaller, bespoke deployments. Its deal pipeline is mostly sub-gigawatt projects, though it has also secured several larger deals forged directly with data center operators.

It's important to understand NuScale's utility approach versus Oklo's strategy of pitching directly to AI companies and data center businesses. But both companies should win if SMR technology is ultimately adopted at scale.

3. SpaceX

While there are hidden methods to invest in SpaceX today, the company expects to hold its IPO sometime this summer, potentially as early as May. After going public, SpaceX could become one of the more intriguing nuclear energy stocks on the market.

But wait a second, isn't SpaceX a rocket company? Yes, but it has exposure to nuclear energy through one sneaky growth catalyst.

According to some estimates, we're entering a $7 trillion global buildout of data center infrastructure. This infrastructure is energy-intensive, which is why NuScale and Oklo have such promising growth prospects. But the cheapest place to build data centers one day may be in space, where heating costs can be reduced to a minimum. We could even see space-based data centers colocated with SMR systems to a reliable, long-lived power supply.

Orbital data centers are years, if not decades, away. And there's no guarantee that nuclear power will play a role in powering this infrastructure. But over the long term, SpaceX could ultimately be both a space stock and a nuclear stock, depending on how it invests in IPO money.

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends NuScale Power. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.