Uranium, Quantum, or Hydrogen? Should you buy D-Wave, Plug Power, or American Atomics now?

American Atomics: Active at the heart of the uranium boom

Will 2026 be the year of rising uranium prices? By the end of 2025, prices had worked their way back up. On December 19, 2025, the spot price was around USD 80 per pound. Bank of America (BofA) expects prices to reach triple digits soon. Analysts believe a rise to USD 135 per pound is possible in 2026. The reason for this optimism is a combination of market deficits, demand impulses, and geopolitical risks. BofA sees security of supply and supply risks due to global trade restrictions as a key issue. The bank also emphasizes structurally rising demand as nuclear energy regains importance as a low-carbon base load. The hunger for electricity is being fueled in particular by the massive expansion of data centers. Operators such as Microsoft, Amazon, and others are also relying heavily on nuclear power supply contracts. The latest example: the decommissioned Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania is to be reconnected to the grid. This has been made possible by a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft. In addition, a USD 1 billion loan from the US Department of Energy is supporting the financing of the recommissioning and reducing the risk for the operator, Constellation.

In an interview with Lyndsay Malchuk from the International Investment Forum (IIF), American Atomics founder Connor Lynch presented his company and discussed the "nuclear renaissance" in the US. He said this was a direct consequence of the AI boom. Hyperscalers and data centers need a reliable, continuous power supply. Wind and solar energy alone cannot provide this. Nuclear energy is therefore becoming a scalable, CO₂-free base load option for big tech – and has thus made the leap from a politically polarizing issue to a broad consensus. At the same time, Lynch emphasizes that the market is currently too focused on new reactors and SMRs, while the real bottlenecks lie in the fuel cycle. Mining, conversion, enrichment, and manufacturing are structurally undersized.

Against this backdrop, Lynch outlines how American Atomics is positioned. The Company aims to benefit from rising prices and investments along the entire fuel cycle, with Lynch anticipating further increases in long-term contract prices, which will make additional projects economically viable and accelerate exploration. He expects a shift toward more rapidly developable deposits, for example, in the continental US and Africa. Political tailwinds in the US are also crucial, he says. Lynch cites accelerated approvals, presidential measures to promote the fuel cycle, and a new consortium supported by the Defense Production Act, in which American Atomics is involved at an early stage and is helping to shape regulatory reforms. As an example, he cites that a recommendation from the consortium - to classify uranium as a critical raw material - was implemented shortly thereafter; overall, he therefore sees growing government support and a phase in which experienced explorers and developers can close the supply gap with new discoveries.

American Atomics is therefore an attractive stock for 2026.

https://youtu.be/NZEQ7_2MUgA?si=bqCgZMgPaeaWnJVc

Plug Power: Analyst continues to fuel the rally

After a sharp rise in the fall and a subsequent decline of 50%, Plug Power's stock is currently trading sideways. At one point, the former hydrogen high-flyer was also considered a winner of the energy boom in the US. However, the euphoria has since subsided.

Most recently, a flagship project in Africa was completed. The US company successfully installed a 5 MW GenEco electrolyser system for Cleanergy Solutions Namibia's green hydrogen project. The plant in Walvis Bay is Africa's first fully integrated commercial green hydrogen facility and will serve as the basis for the expansion of hydrogen mobility in Namibia and neighboring markets.

Plug's PEM GenEco electrolyser is directly integrated into Cleanergy Solutions Namibia's hydrogen facility, which includes a 5 MW solar park covering more than 6.5 hectares and a 5.9 MWh battery energy storage system for off-grid renewable hydrogen production. The locally produced hydrogen will power hydrogen-fueled trucks, port and rail facilities, and small vessels in the Port of Walvis Bay, while also supplying vehicles that have been retrofitted locally for dual-fuel operation with hydrogen and conventional fuels.

By combining renewable power generation with hydrogen production and Plug's fueling infrastructure, Cleanergy Solutions Namibia's project creates a vertically integrated model that connects clean electrons with clean molecules, supporting Namibia's rise as a hydrogen production hub for transportation, maritime shipping, and the broader decarbonization of industry. The Cleanergy Solutions Namibia project is intended to serve as a replicable model for building hydrogen infrastructure across Africa and position Namibia as a regional leader in the production of renewable hydrogen with export potential.

D-Wave: Quantum market set to multiply

D-Wave shares are among the clear favorites among investors in the quantum sector. The industry has recently received a boost from two studies. The OECD/EPO study "Mapping the global quantum ecosystem" describes the quantum sector as a maturing ecosystem. Steps away from the early hype towards scaling and commercialization are evident. Patent and company data, among other things, were used for the study. According to the study, the number of international patents in the quantum sector has risen by an average of around 20% per year since 2014. Growth is clearly above the average for the technology sector as a whole. By 2035, the global quantum market is expected to reach a volume of around EUR 93 billion. McKinsey estimated the quantum market in 2024 at USD 650 to 750 million.

A hundredfold increase in the market is likely also necessary to justify the valuations of quantum stocks. IonQ, D-Wave, and Rigetti Computing currently have market capitalizations of USD 17 billion, USD 9 billion, and USD 7.8 billion, respectively. And it is far from certain that the pure plays will win the race. Perhaps NVIDIA, Alphabet, or IBM will be the winners.

Despite the energy hype in the US, uranium has performed worse than many expected in the current year. However, the long-term prospects are excellent. American Atomics is active in the US and, therefore, extremely interesting. In addition, the stock is still something of a hidden gem. By contrast, D-Wave has already priced in quite a bit, even though the industry's growth has likely only just begun. Plug Power remains something for speculators. The outlook for hydrogen remains complex.