Powering the Future: Nuclear's Essential Zero Carbon, Baseload Role in the AI Age
Rob Kaderavek of Baird’s Power Services team recently attended the 2025 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo. The conference brings together nuclear professionals from industry leaders and regulators to engineers and independent consultants to discuss the latest nuclear trends.
The NECX conversation moved aggressively beyond policy-driven hopes to a commercially grounded reality, and there were several recurring themes to highlight:
- The Nuclear Industry Presented a Unified Front: NECX 2025 was the first-ever joint conference between the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), drawing a sold-out crowd of over 1,300. This unity streamlines advocacy on issues like licensing reform and federal funding.
- The AI Power Need is Voracious: The energy needs of AI data centers have created a powerful, non-governmental customer base actively seeking carbon-free, baseload power. This provides a bankable demand signal that de-risks and accelerates new nuclear projects far more effectively than policy alone.
- Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) Are the Consensus Path Forward: The industry is coalescing around smaller, scalable, and more financeable reactor designs. The discussion has moved from "if" to "how" SMRs will be deployed.
- The Supply Chain is Globalizing: The prominent participation of Korea's KEPCO, which announced its intent to enter the U.S. market, highlights the global nature of the nuclear build-out.
- AI is Also a Key Nuclear Enabler: Beyond powering data centers, AI itself was a key topic for improving nuclear operations. The industry is seeking and adopting advanced software to drive efficiency and reduce operational risk.
As the trusted nuclear industry advisor for M&A transactions, Baird’s Power practice has had strong, recent momentum in the sector.
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