Nuclear energy momentum ‘never seen before’ due to climate change and geopolitics – Urenco CEO

Nuclear energy (NYSEARCA:NLR), (NUKZ), (URAN) is experiencing a momentum that has never been seen before, primarily driven by climate change concerns and geopolitical shifts following the Ukraine war, according to Urenco CEO Boris Schucht.

“There is a momentum for nuclear that I must say, as a nuclear engineer and as a businessman, I’ve never seen before,” Schucht said during an interview with CNBC on the sidelines of the World Nuclear Symposium 2025.

Countries like Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, UK, and France are pursuing new nuclear projects as they recognize that achieving climate targets and securing energy supplies will require nuclear power in their energy mix.

The Ukraine war has created a significant shift in the geopolitical landscape, questioning dependencies on Russia. This change has generated additional demand in the nuclear fuel cycle, prompting new investments to meet these needs, Schucht said.

When asked about AI’s impact on energy demand, the CEO of the multi-national limited company that specializes in uranium enrichment for power generation contextualized nuclear’s role in the broader decarbonization challenge.

While acknowledging that AI creates “additional demand, which we all underestimated a few years ago,” he said that “nuclear is much more a solution for the long term” due to regulatory processes and safety considerations.

Beyond the technology sector, other industries are also looking to nuclear energy for decarbonization solutions.

“There are a lot of other sectors which are thinking about how they decarbonize and how they make sure that they have a clean, affordable energy and safe, reliable energy in the coming years. For example, the chemistry sector,” Schucht said, pointing to growing demand across different industries for nuclear energy as a clean and reliable power source.

The VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NYSEARCA:NLR) has surged 44.4% year-to-date, while the Global X Uranium ETF (NYSEARCA:URA) is up 50.3% year-to-date. Uranium producers, however, has seen a recent decline in their share prices due to an announcement by a joint venture by France's Orano Mining and Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom saying it plans to ramp up uranium production due to falling global uranium prices.

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