ENERGY decides the AI race between the US and China: Siemens Energy, Oklo, and American Atomics stand to benefit

Oklo: Tailwind from meta project

In the US in particular, nuclear energy is an essential component of the energy supply of the future. Old reactors are to be reconnected to the grid, and new technologies are being developed. Oklo is one of the newcomers to the industry. The Company develops fast fission reactors and focuses on recycling nuclear fuels. In 2025, the share price shot up from USD 22 to over USD 170. This was followed by a sharp correction to around USD 72. In recent weeks, the share price has climbed back above USD 95, valuing Oklo at an impressive USD 15 billion.

Among other things, a cooperation with Meta Platforms has recently provided tailwind. The agreement is intended to promote the construction of a power campus with a capacity of up to 1.2 GW in the US state of Ohio. The explicit goal is to supply Meta's data centers in the region. To this end, Meta is prepared to pay for electricity in advance, thereby partially pre-financing the development. According to Oklo, it intends to use the capital primarily to secure nuclear fuel and to implement Phase 1 of the Aurora Powerhouse deployments. The schedule is ambitious: preparatory work and site investigations are set to begin in 2026, with the first phase of expansion potentially going online in 2030; scaling up to the target size of 1.2 GW is planned in stages through 2034.

The project is planned on an approximately 83-hectare site that previously belonged to the US Department of Energy. Strategically, the cooperation underscores how strongly the demand for base-load-capable, low-CO₂ energy is growing with the expansion of AI and digital infrastructure – and how tech companies are increasingly willing to actively co-develop generation capacity through pre-financing. Oklo expects the agreement to pave the way for the construction of several reactor units, thereby creating both construction and long-term operational jobs as well as additional tax and investment effects in the region. Ohio's strong transmission grid is highlighted as a locational advantage, as is the business model in which large customers co-finance their own generation, thereby bringing additional clean power into the grid, which, according to the partners, will also benefit other electricity customers.

American Atomics: Fuel for the AI boom

With nuclear power plants being reactivated and countless others in the planning stage, it is clear that demand for uranium is unlikely to decline in the coming decades. Against this backdrop, analysts at Bank of America (BofA) believe that uranium prices could reach up to USD 135 per pound in 2026, compared with roughly USD 80 currently. Experts see structurally rising demand due to low-carbon baseload capacity.

American Atomics has come at just the right time for the "nuclear renaissance" in the US. The Canadian company is benefiting from political tailwinds in North America. There, the risk of dependence on fuel imports has been recognized, and there is a strong focus on suppliers from "safe" countries. This is precisely what American Atomics is working on.

American Atomics' business model goes beyond exploration. In the future, the Canadians plan to cover the entire value chain, from processing to technological solutions for conversion and enrichment. To this end, it is relying on strong partners such as CVMR Corporation. The planned processing plant is set to set new standards in environmentally friendly metal refining. The activities are based on the Big Indian project in the historic Lisbon Valley district in the US state of Utah. The Company has secured a previously unexplored area on the eastern side of the district. The chances of substantial discoveries are high. Around 78 million pounds of triuranium dioxide (U₃O₈) have already been mined on the western side in the past.

With a current market capitalization of around CAD 13 million, the Company appears to be anything but expensive. Positive discoveries are likely to give the stock a noticeable boost.

Siemens Energy: Analysts generally positive

Siemens Energy is likely the biggest German beneficiary of the energy boom. With a performance of more than 140% over the past 52 weeks, the stock has significantly outperformed direct AI plays NVIDIA and Alphabet. The stock is currently trading at around EUR 126. This week, several analysts commented on the future prospects of the DAX-listed company, with the price targets varying significantly. However, analysts are traditionally somewhat cautious with their price targets and tend to lag behind the share price.

JPMorgan was particularly bullish this week. Analysts at the major US bank see the fair value of the share at EUR 160. In an industry study, Siemens Energy is one of their favorites. They expect further growth for the group. The drivers should be the areas of power generation, power grids, and data centers. In addition, there are initial indicators that the economy in Europe is recovering. They therefore expect the share to outperform.

RBC is only slightly more cautious in its assessment. Analysts have raised their price target from EUR 136 to EUR 150 and recommend Siemens Energy shares as "Outperform." An economic recovery in the second half of the current year is possible. However, there are still some question marks and thus uncertainty.

Barclays was more cautious in its assessment. Although the experts' price target for Siemens Energy shares was raised slightly from EUR 85 to EUR 90, it is still well below the current stock market price. As a result, Siemens Energy shares are not currently among the analysts' buy recommendations.

The AI race is unlikely to be decided by semiconductors alone, but rather by access to cheap and reliable energy. The willingness of companies such as Microsoft and Meta to pre-finance new nuclear power plants underscores the scale of demand. The role of uranium as a key fuel for the energy transition and AI-driven growth still appears underestimated. Against this backdrop, American Atomics shares look particularly interesting. Oklo and Siemens Energy also offer upside potential, although their stocks have already delivered strong performance and no longer appear inexpensive.