What Is Uranium Used For? | Main Uses

What is Uranium Used For?

Uranium, a radioactive chemical element, is used primarily to power nuclear reactors— the clean energy power source of the future. With experts believing a new bull market is quickly approaching for the element (for reasons explained below), right now is the perfect time to invest in uranium. 

Invest in the Future and Make a Fortune

Did you know that 11% of global electricity is sourced from uranium-powered nuclear reactors? This percentage is even higher in the United States, with 20% of the country’s electricity being sourced from nuclear power.

While this is great for accessible power and lower carbon emissions, the only fuel source for these reactors is enriched uranium, something that is currently very low in supply. As more and more of the world shifts to nuclear power, the demand for uranium is only expected to get higher. To give you an idea of just how much higher, nuclear reactor uranium demand is projected to increase by 75% by 2040.

To learn how you can make a fortune from the world’s shift to nuclear power, register with us today and gain access to our full uranium stocks list and members-only community.

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The World’s Shift to Nuclear Power

As popular and widely accessible as other power sources are –– such as natural gas, coal, wind, and solar –– they have significant downsides. For example, wind and solar power are only available when certain conditions are present (i.e., when the sun is out and when it’s windy). Similarly, while natural gas and goal are more accessible, they emit major carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

On the other hand, nuclear reactors produce electricity nearly 24 hours a day and seven days a week without producing any air pollution or carbon dioxide whatsoever. Nuclear energy also has the highest capacity factor of any other energy source by far, meaning that it produces maximum power far longer and more consistently throughout the year than any other power source. The benefits don’t just stop there; nuclear power plants also require less maintenance and are designed to operate for longer stretches before refueling (usually 1.5 or 2 years) compared to natural gas and coal. As the cherry on top, the demand for uranium—the fuel source of nuclear reactors— does not fall with financial market performance.

For these reasons alone, the world is doing away with more traditional, conditional, and polluting sources of power in exchange for much cleaner, longer-lasting, and more efficient nuclear power. Fortunately, we’re still at the beginning of this transition, which is the ideal time to invest in uranium before heightened demand sends stock prices flying. 

Why Uranium is in Such High Demand

With this higher demand for nuclear power comes an equally higher demand for its fuel source — uranium. To give you an idea of the current uranium demands, 151 million pounds of natural uranium is required every year just to power the 442 nuclear power plants (reactors) currently in operation around the world.

Plus, the presence of reactors is only expected to grow in the future. On top of the hundreds of reactors that currently populate the world, there are another 53 being constructed, 98 planned for construction, and 326 being proposed. These numbers only reflect the reactors related to power generation; there are hundreds more serving other purposes. Specifically, there are another 220 research reactors, as well as another 200 reactors powering marine propulsion.

Beyond this, a growing fleet of next-generation smaller, cheaper, and more rapidly-deployed modular reactors are being designed, tested, and considered for all sorts of new purposes around the world, especially in remote locations and developing nations unable to afford conventional nuclear power stations. As reactors continue to refine in terms of price and deployability, it’s only logical that the demand for them will continue to get higher. 

To bring everything back around, with 1,339 reactors currently active or planned to be active in the near future, all needing uranium for initial load, onsite inventory, and then refueling regularly thereafter for their entire operating life, you can begin to understand why the demand for the material is so high. For a specific figure, nuclear reactor uranium demand is projected to increase 75% by 2040.

The Low Uranium Supply Opportunity

Despite plans for so many more reactors in the future, the bottom line is that there is already an imbalance in the supply and demand of uranium for just the reactors that currently exist and operate. This has become especially evident in the past few years, starting in 2019 with natural uranium production falling about 20 million pounds short of demand requirements. Things then only got worst in 2020, with well over 20 million pounds of production being lost due to complications imposed by the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

As the situation stands now, between 2020 and 2035, there are over 1.5 billion pounds of uncovered demand for uranium from world nuclear consumers. Put another way: this means that there are over 1.5 billion pounds of uranium that are not secured by contract between consumer and producer. 

Further complicating matters is the fact that nearly half of the top 10 uranium mines globally are estimated to run dry by 2030. While this will leave very few places from which to buy uranium, it also will likely mean a surge in the price of uranium. This combination of uranium’s anticipated growing demand and limited supply makes it the perfect investment at this very moment in time—when prices are still low. As buyers scramble to secure uranium ore from the few mines remaining in production, the price of uranium has no option but to go up.

In fact, even if all mines are miraculously brought back online, experts warn that they still won’t be able to deliver the amount of uranium the world will need. There will still be a massive supply deficit years down the line, which could mean a fortune for investors who invest early on. 

Why Now is the Best Time to Invest in Uranium 

For uranium stocks, like any stock, the greatest returns come from investing before, or at the beginning, of a bull market. This was certainly the case during the last uranium market bull, which occurred from 2000 to 2007. During this time span, tiny uranium penny stocks produced such returns as:

• Paladin Energy (ASX PDN, OTCMKTS PALAF) swelled from $0.01 to $10.00 (99,900%)
• Cameco Corporation (NYSE CCJ, TSX CCO) increased from $3.42 to $49.60 (1,350%)
• Denison Mines (NYSE DNN, TSX DML) rose from $0.25 to $16.57 (6,528%)
• Mega (TSX MGA, OTCMKTS MGAFF) rocketed from $0.03 to $8.98 (29,833%)
• UEX Corporation (TSX UEX, launched from $0.08 to $9.15 (11,337%)
• Energy Fuels (NYSE UUUU, TSX EFR) flew from $2 to $274 (13,600%)

While considering these companies, also take a look at these other uranium stocks to include in your portfolio.

Join and participate in engaging conversations in our uranium discussion groups or uranium forums. Check out these additional resources to grow your knowledge.

Take this data in for a moment. In the span of just seven years, returns rose as high as 99,900%! There’s nothing stopping returns from rising this high again. Plus, the good news is that, by all estimates, we’re on the precipice of a new bull market right now. With the expiration (or near-expiring) of many contracts written during the last uranium boom cycle—between 2005 and 2008—and the switch to predominately short-term contracts in the spot market by uranium buyers, current uranium prices are currently below the marginal cost of production. This has forced the largest uranium production companies to curtail production and/or place their mining operations on care and maintenance. 

But, for the reasons outlined in the section above, namely the growing adoption of nuclear power and the expected drying up of only but a few uranium ore mines, experts believe that both the demand for and the price of uranium will skyrocket in the near future. As any seasoned investor will tell you, any time demand outweighs supply, the only direction for the stock price to go is up, thus creating a bull market in the process. 

Why UraniumStockInvesting.com?

As lucrative as uranium stocks are, they can seem complicated to the uninitiated and/or uninformed. We get that, which is why our goal is to help simplify the nuclear energy industry and make it as accessible to as many people as possible. More specifically, we share delayed stock information to allow investors the opportunity to view current and historical performance data and to conduct additional due diligence before consulting with their own financial advisors and making investment decisions. 

We also host a community platform where members can join organized groups, post comments, ask questions, exchange advice, and connect with like-minded individuals. In this sense, not only are you getting quality information from our site admins, but also from experts within our community. Given that there are so many angles to uranium investing, we want to ensure that you get authoritative information about as many topics as possible. Our wide-spanning community helps us do that. 

Register Today to Help Secure Your Uranium Fortune 

If you’re looking to invest in uranium, there’s no better time than now. The current combination of growing demand and limited supply is projected to send uranium into a new bull market in the very near future. The earlier you invest before the beginning of the next bull market, the better the returns you can expect to see.