Uranium Digital

Today we're excited to announce that Uranium Digital has closed a $16.5 million Series A. The round was led by @bcap, with participation from existing investors. The investment will support the expansion of product offerings and technology, as we work to meet growing institutional demand for access to the uranium market. Learn more at uraniumdigital.com

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali announced plans to build two 1,200 MWe nuclear reactors, with three candidate sites already identified from an initial list of more than 30. The Ethiopian Nuclear Energy Commission was established last year to build the institutional and workforce foundations for the program. Russia has been Ethiopia's primary nuclear partner since a 2019 intergovernmental agreement, with a Rosatom strategic roadmap signed as recently as March. The two countries are now coordinating a draft agreement on the fundamental principles of cooperation for plant construction, the signing of which would initiate design and engineering work. Ethiopia joining the pipeline of African countries pursuing nuclear is part of a broader continent-wide pattern. Rosatom is simultaneously in advanced discussions with Egypt, Togo, Namibia, and Tanzania on floating units, while building El Dabaa in Egypt. The number of African nations moving from policy interest into formal nuclear programs is accelerating, and the technology and financing partnerships being formed now will define the continent's energy mix for decades.

Westinghouse has been awarded a Front-End Engineering and Design study for a potential AP1000 reactor at Slovakia's Bohunice site, partially funded by the US State Department's FIRST Program. The six-month study will assess site conditions, licensing status, and produce a preliminary schedule and budget, giving Slovakia's state-owned project company JESS the technical foundation to decide on next steps toward a 2040 target completion date. The FEED award follows Slovakia consolidating state ownership of the project after Czech utility CEZ sold its stake in JESS earlier this month. With that ownership question resolved, the government is moving into formal technical planning under an intergovernmental agreement with the US signed in January. Slovakia is already the most nuclear-dependent country in Europe, with nuclear covering more than half its electricity today and approaching 77% once Mochovce 4 reaches full capacity. Adding an AP1000 at Bohunice would extend that position well into the second half of the century and deepen the country's energy independence from Russian supply chains.

Rosatom is in advanced discussions with at least four African countries (currently Egypt, Togo, Namibia, and Tanzania) on supplying floating nuclear power units, according to company executives speaking at a Russia-Africa Summit. The offer is structured as a power purchase agreement, with Rosatom retaining ownership and handling servicing and refueling in Russia over a 60-year operating life. The pitch is straightforward: 38 of Africa's 54 countries have sufficient coastline to host a floating unit, the infrastructure requirements on land are minimal, and the PPA model eliminates the need for host countries to build their own nuclear capabilities or carry the asset on their balance sheets. Rosatom is positioning floating nuclear as an entry point into the nuclear club for countries that could not otherwise afford a conventional plant. This follows the Indonesia agreement announced earlier this month and reflects a deliberate Rosatom strategy to use floating units as a market-opening tool across the developing world. Whether these African discussions translate into signed contracts is an open question, but the pipeline is expanding faster than most observers expected a year ago.

The Department of Energy announced $10.1 billion in loan commitments this week, with $5 billion going to Constellation Energy to finance uprates and modernization across its nuclear fleet in Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The Constellation commitment covers plants including Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, Quad Cities, Calvert Cliffs, and Limerick, targeting nearly 1.1 GW of added capacity in PJM and MISO markets. DOE has now identified 95% of the 5 GW uprate and restart goal it set for the existing US nuclear fleet. The Constellation loan is a direct expression of that strategy: adding gigawatts from plants already built, already licensed, and already operating, without the lead times and costs of new construction.

India's nuclear program has recently hit several milestones. Geotechnical investigations have begun at the Kakrapar site in Gujarat for units 5 and 6, two 700 MWe pressurized heavy water reactors that will add to the four already operating there. Separately, India's Nuclear Fuel Complex completed its 12th set of steam generator tubes for the fleet construction program, cutting manufacturing cycle time from 181 days to 81 days. On the SMR front, NPCIL and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre released the Detailed Project Report for the SMR-55, a 55 MWe pressurized water reactor co-developed domestically. The design is targeting remote electrification, data centers, and industrial captive power applications. India has set a target of 100 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2047, a number that requires building out an entire domestic supply chain. The combination of fleet-mode PHWR construction, supply chain localization, and indigenous SMR development reflects a program that is increasingly building the industrial depth to match its ambitions.

The Philippines is targeting 1.2 GW of nuclear capacity by 2032 and 4.8 GW by 2050, with the government working through site assessments, regulatory development, technology selection, and financing frameworks to enable its first project. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin cited the country's 51.5% dependence on imported primary energy as a core driver, alongside electricity demand growing at 3.6% annually in an economy expanding at 6%. Meralco PowerGen has secured a $2.8 million USTDA grant and is working with Sargent & Lundy on an SMR feasibility study covering potential sites and technology options, with a final report expected in mid-2027. Aboitiz Power is also evaluating nuclear as part of its long-term generation portfolio. Both companies framed nuclear as complementary to the country's renewable targets, not competing with them. Southeast Asia is becoming an increasingly active front in the global nuclear expansion story. With Indonesia in discussions with Rosatom on floating nuclear and the Philippines building toward a formal program, the region is moving from policy conversations toward early commercial decisions -- and the technology and supply chain partnerships being formed now will shape which vendors and which designs gain a foothold.

AEP, Amazon, and X-energy have signed a joint development agreement to evaluate a 960 MW advanced nuclear project at a former coal plant site in Sullivan County, Indiana. The design calls for 12 units of X-energy's Xe-100 small modular reactor, each at 80 MW, configured in groups of four. Amazon has committed development funding and intends to purchase the power under a long-term contract covering the full cost of the facility. The project follows a pattern that is becoming familiar: a tech company anchors the financing through a power purchase agreement, a utility brings the operating expertise and grid interconnection, and an advanced reactor developer provides the technology. Amazon's involvement means the capital risk does not fall on Indiana Michigan Power ratepayers. The site in Sullivan County recently joined Indiana's Advanced Nuclear Ready Communities Program. AEP brings roughly 50 years of nuclear operating experience to the partnership. If the project reaches a final investment decision and moves through construction, it would operate for more than 60 years on a site that previously generated power from coal.

Rosatom has signed the world's first export agreement for electricity supply from a floating nuclear power unit with Indonesian company PT Pembangkit Listrik Nuklir. Two FPU-100 units carrying a combined 200 MW will be deployed off Halmahera Island in eastern Indonesia, with power delivery targeted within five years. Rosatom will retain ownership and operate the units, with the customer paying only for the electricity generated. No host-country nuclear infrastructure investment is required. For island nations and remote industrial sites with limited grid connectivity, that structure removes some of the biggest barriers to nuclear adoption. Rosatom is framing this as the first step in a two-phase approach for Indonesia: floating units first, followed by land-based large reactors. With the Philippines also advancing SMR plans and Southeast Asia's electricity demand growing rapidly, the region is emerging as one of the most active new frontiers for nuclear deployment globally.

The Nuclear Company has announced Prosperity One, a proposed campus in Lewis County, Kentucky that could accommodate up to six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors totaling 6.6 GW along the Ohio River. If built out fully, it would be the largest nuclear power site in the United States. The company has site control and is targeting a construction start in 2028, pending NRC licensing. The project is positioned around a region that has historically depended on coal. Lewis County has already voted to seek designation as a nuclear-ready community under Kentucky's Nuclear Energy Development Authority, and the landowner is a lifelong local resident who has partnered directly with the company on the development. The Nuclear Company is building toward a vertically integrated nuclear deployment model, with its services division already active at more than 40% of operating US nuclear facilities. Prosperity One is the latest signal that the US new-build pipeline is no longer just a set of individual projects. It is starting to look like a deliberate, scaled industrial program.

Westinghouse is investing $1 billion to build the first new fleet-scale nuclear fuel factory in the US in more than 50 years. The new plant, targeting a 2030 start, will produce LEU+ fuel using a modern dry process and higher levels of automation than the facility built in 1968 it will sit alongside. LEU+ fuel is a key enabler for power upgrades at existing plants. It directly supports the DOE's UPRISE program, which targets 5 GW of additional capacity from the operating US fleet by 2029, without building a single new reactor. The $1 billion investment is projected to generate $4.9 billion in economic impact across South Carolina over the next decade. It also represents another piece of the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain taking shape as US nuclear output is being asked to grow significantly in the years ahead.

Hungary's new government is reviewing whether to replace Rosatom as the main contractor on the Paks nuclear expansion, according to Reuters sources. The project, a 12.5 billion euro contract awarded without a tender under Viktor Orban, has already cost Hungary more than 2 billion euros and has faced repeated contract amendments, a 2025 EU court ruling against its state aid approval, and complications from a drought that nearly forced a shutdown of the existing reactors last summer. The cabinet of Prime Minister Peter Magyar is expected to make a decision by early next year. One source said the government is leaning toward concluding the expansion is necessary but that Rosatom should not be involved. A European supplier was flagged as the option that would simplify the foreign-policy and sanctions environment. If Hungary exits the contract, it would need to absorb the roughly 1.1 billion euros already paid to Rosatom plus any breach-of-contract penalties. The Paks situation is one to watch for the broader nuclear supply chain. It would represent the second major European Rosatom contract cancellation after Finland, and it would put a multi-gigawatt project back into play for Western vendors at a moment when AP1000 and European reactor developers are actively competing for new orders across the continent.

Urenco’s National Enrichment Facility in Eunice, New Mexico, the only commercial uranium enrichment site in the US, has completed 75% of its current capacity expansion, with installation of the sixth of eight new centrifuge cascades now underway. The full phase will add 700,000 SWU per year to existing capacity, with two more cascades coming online by the end of 2027. At 4.3 million SWU per year today, the facility covers roughly a third of US demand. The longer-term target is seven million SWU, a more than 50% increase from current levels, timed to support both conventional reactors and the growing pipeline of advanced reactor deployments. The buildout is running ahead of schedule and on budget, a notable data point as the US works to reduce its dependence on foreign enrichment services and build a more resilient domestic nuclear fuel supply chain.

Turkey’s Akkuyu Unit 1 has completed hydraulic testing of its primary circuit, a key milestone in the commissioning sequence ahead of hot functional tests. The primary circuit was pressurized to 24.5 MPa -- roughly 1.5 times normal operating pressure -- to verify the integrity of the reactor, pumps, steam generators, and interconnecting pipelines. Hot functional tests will follow, checking that systems perform under operating temperatures before nuclear fuel is loaded. The goal remains first power to Turkey’s grid before the end of 2026, which would make Akkuyu the country’s first-ever nuclear power plant to reach operation. When all four VVER-1200 units at the site are complete, the 4,800 MWe plant is expected to cover around 10% of Turkey’s total electricity demand. Turkey also has plans underway for a second plant at Sinop, a third site in the Thrace region, and an SMR program targeting 5 GWe of additional capacity by 2050.

Bangladesh’s Rooppur Unit 1 achieved first criticality on October 11, marking the country’s entry into the nuclear power era. The milestone came roughly nine years after construction began in 2017, following fuel loading completed earlier this year and an operating license issued in April. The plant is a Rosatom VVER design, part of a $12.65 billion contract signed in 2015. Power startup is scheduled for November 20, with grid connection to follow after a staged ramp-up. Unit 2 is also under construction at the same site. Bangladesh becomes one of the few countries in the world to commission its first nuclear plant in recent years, joining a growing list of nations expanding into nuclear power to address energy security and decarbonization goals simultaneously.

China’s Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant Unit 7 has connected to the grid, delivering its first electricity on October 8, just over a week after achieving initial criticality. The VVER-1200 reactor will now be stepped up through progressive power levels with tests at each stage before commercial operation. Tianwan 7 is a Sino-Russian project with construction beginning in May 2021 under agreements signed in June 2018. Unit 8, also a VVER-1200, began construction in February 2022 and is targeted for commercial operation in 2027. The plant on the coast of Jiangsu province is jointly owned by CNNC, China Power Investment Corporation, and Jiangsu Guoxin Group. Once all eight units at the Tianwan site are operational, total installed capacity will exceed 9 GWe, with annual generation of over 70 TWh and an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of approximately 57.4 million tonnes.

Polish billionaire Michal Solowow’s SGE and the Solorz family’s ZE PAK have signed a deal to jointly build and operate small modular reactors in Poland. Solowow holds exclusive rights to offer GE Vernova Hitachi’s BWRX-300 reactors in Poland. The partnership marks a second attempt at cooperation between the two groups on nuclear power and adds private sector momentum to Poland’s broader push to deploy a fleet of advanced reactors as the country transitions away from coal. Poland has a decision in principle for 26 BWRX-300 units, and SGE is also pursuing a 14-reactor fleet across three sites in the UK under the Advanced Nuclear Framework program.

Italy's Senate has passed the bill paving the way for a return to nuclear power, voting 81 to 51 in favor. The bill empowers the government to develop a National Program for Sustainable Nuclear Power, establish an independent Nuclear Safety Authority, and set rules for waste management and radioactive waste disposal. The government now has 12 months to draft implementing decrees. The Senate vote marks a decisive reversal of that position, driven by energy security concerns, some of Europe's highest electricity costs, and shifting public opinion. Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said nuclear is not a return to the past but a winning technology that, integrated with renewables, can deliver extraordinary results for energy security and decarbonization. On the day of the Senate vote, France's Nuward and its parent company EDF, alongside Edison, Ansaldo, and Maire, reaffirmed a common vision to deploy a first SMR in Italy by 2035. Nuward aims to build a fleet of 10 SMRs across five EU member countries with initial construction beginning in 2030.

Future nuclear power capacity by country. via @VisualCap

The US and South Korea have outlined a $120 billion framework agreement, dubbed Project Power, to build six Westinghouse AP1000 units and two South Korean APR1400 units in the United States. The agreement also contemplates a significant minority equity investment in Westinghouse by South Korean companies, with details to be confirmed later. A one-time waiver of Westinghouse's 2025 intellectual property settlement with KEPCO and KHNP would allow up to two APR1400 reactors to be built in the US, with Westinghouse expected to receive approximately $2 billion of value per APR1400 unit through licensing fees, engineering services, and long-term fuel fabrication. Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel framed the new AP1000 orders as an opportunity to further derisk and accelerate the global AP1000 fleet buildout, alongside the DOE's American Nuclear Supply Chain Loans program expected to accelerate construction timelines by up to three years. The eight-unit program forms part of the Trump administration's goal of having 10 large reactors under construction in the US by 2030.