Holtec Could Go Public To Fund Its Small Modular Nuclear Reactors

Holtec International is planning what could be the largest nuclear energy offering in years.

Holtec is restoring a reactor at the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan, which had been shut down in 2022 for financial reasons. I Photo: Holtec

CEO Krishna Singh told Barron’s the company plans to go public within several months—something that could offer investors one of the few pure-play opportunities to buy into the growing nuclear energy sector, Avi Salzman reported for Barron’s Daily.

Holtec already generates substantial revenue from activities such as decommissioning nuclear plants and handling nuclear waste.

The company could be valued at more than $10 billion. It is also on the verge of attempting something never done before in the U.S.—bringing back a decommissioned nuclear plant.

Holtec is restoring a reactor at the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan, which had been shut down in 2022 for financial reasons.

The project has received hundreds of millions of dollars in support from Michigan and the U.S. Department of Energy. Holtec also plans to place two small modular reactors, or SMRs, at the Michigan site.

The company is already building the equipment for those reactors in conjunction with Hyundai Engineering & Construction, though it hasn’t yet received state or federal approval for the project.

Singh, who founded Holtec in 1986, said he hopes to sell 20% of the company’s equity to investors. Proceeds from the stock sale would help fund the expansion of SMR construction.

Singh envisions Holtec building 10 to 20 SMRs concurrently over the next decade. An initial public offering could come early next year. Each SMR could cost about $3 billion to construct.

Holtec could either operate the reactors itself or sell them to other companies, and it has been in discussions with data center operators about supplying them with nuclear power.

However, Holtec has not yet licensed its design, and no SMRs are currently operating in the U.S.