Saturday, August 15, 2026 See who Washington just made rich Go Pro · $40/mo →
Money Racket
Who Cashes In When Washington Moves
CRYPTOSEC Delays Crypto Rules—Uncertainty PersiststodayWHITE HOUSEWhite House 'Gold Eagle' AI Cyber Clearinghouse Is a Direct Revenue Signal for CrowdStrike and Palantir4 weeks agoTRADE & TARIFFSKimberly-Clark Pockets $45M Tariff RefundtodayDEFENSEPentagon's Laser Weapon Contracts for Drone Defense Hand a Direct Win to Directed-Energy Specialists4 weeks agoTRADE & TARIFFSTrump Tariffs on Drones Boost U.S. MakerstodayHEALTHCARE & FDACMS's Proposed 340B Payment Cuts Would Squeeze Hospital Revenue While Helping PBM Rivals4 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDASimparica Trio Gets Screwworm EUA—Zoetis WinsyesterdayWHITE HOUSETrump Shrinks Two Utah Monuments by 90%, Opening Land to Mining and Drilling4 weeks agoDEFENSEBlackSky Lands Multi-Year Satellite ContractyesterdayENERGYTrump's Nuclear Push Is Driving a Real Uranium Mining Revival — These Are the Stocks That Collect4 weeks agoTECHFCC Eases Broadband Label Rules—ISPs Win Flexibility2 days agoDEFENSEJohnson's $95 Billion Defense Spending Plan Has Lockheed, RTX, and Northrop Written All Over It4 weeks agoDEFENSEIonQ Lands $28M U.S. Defense Quantum Contract2 days agoTRADE & TARIFFSPepsiCo's Tariff Refund Is a Small Win, But It Points to a Broader Cost Relief Story for Consumer Staples4 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDAFDA Clears Screwworm Prevention Drug for U.S. Livestock3 days agoENERGYNew Mexico Blocks Oracle's Data Center Gas Pipeline, Exposing the Fragility of Big Tech's Power Build-Out4 weeks agoENERGYNRC Approves NAC MAGNASTOR Spent Fuel Storage Cask3 days agoDEFENSEPentagon's Laser Weapon Contracts for Drone Defense Open a New Revenue Line for Northrop and L3Harris4 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDAFDA Updates Fresh-Cut Produce Safety Guidance3 days agoCRYPTOT. Rowe Price's Active Multi-Token Crypto ETF Is a Fee-War Warning Shot for Bitwise and Grayscale4 weeks agoWHITE HOUSETrump Orders Childhood Vaccine Schedule Spacing3 days agoTECHBosch's $225M CHIPS Award for Silicon Carbide Puts Wolfspeed and Onsemi on Notice4 weeks agoWHITE HOUSETrump Order Splits MMR Vaccine—Pharma Faces Demand Shift4 days agoENERGYMichigan Renews Enbridge's Line 5 Tunnel Permit, Removing the Biggest Regulatory Overhang on the Stock4 weeks agoDEFENSETrump Pushes $1.5T Defense Budget—Lockheed, RTX, GD Lock in Gains5 days agoENERGYMichigan's Line 5 Permit Renewal Is a Clear Win for Enbridge — and a Setback for Pipeline Opponents4 weeks agoWHITE HOUSEWhite House Drafts Vaccine-Autism Order—Pharma Faces Uncertainty5 days agoHEALTHCARE & FDACMS's Site-Neutral and 340B Cuts Would Squeeze Hospital Systems and Hand Wins to Outpatient Rivals4 weeks agoTECHTrump Administration Adds 6 Chipmakers to U.S. Portfolio6 days agoWHITE HOUSEWhite House Cybersecurity Clearinghouse Creates a Direct Revenue Line for CrowdStrike, Palantir, and Microsoft4 weeks agoDEFENSEPentagon Awards Space-Based Target Tracking Contracts6 days agoCRYPTOT. Rowe Price's Active Multi-Token Crypto ETF Is a Fee Story — and a Pressure Test for Bitwise and Grayscale4 weeks agoENERGYMichigan Court Rejects Enbridge Line 5 Permit Under Great Lakes6 days agoWHITE HOUSEWhite House Control Over Frontier AI Access Reshapes the Pecking Order — Microsoft and Oracle Gain, Open-Source Loses4 weeks agoWHITE HOUSEDHS Tightens H-1B/L-1 Visa Fees—Tech Hiring Costs Rise for Employerslast weekHEALTHCARE & FDACMS's Site-Neutral and 340B Reform Proposal Squeezes Hospital Margins and Lifts Independent Pharmacies4 weeks agoTECHU.S. Signs $874M Semiconductor Research LOIs—Chip Makers Get Federal Backinglast weekTECHBosch's $225M CHIPS Award for Silicon Carbide Chips Is a Direct Threat to Wolfspeed's U.S. Market Share4 weeks agoTRADE & TARIFFSRetailers Sell Off Tariff Refund Rights for Cash—Windfall Monetized Before Payoutlast weekDEFENSEU.S.-Iran Escalation and a Stalled Strait of Hormuz Are a Windfall for Tanker Owners and Defense Primes4 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDAFDA Approves Tudriqev for Advanced Melanomalast weekWHITE HOUSEWhite House Control Over Frontier AI Access Reshapes Who Wins the Model Race4 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDAFTC Sues Hims & Hers Over Privacy and Billing Practiceslast weekENERGYNew Mexico's Pipeline Denial Puts Oracle's Data Center Expansion on Ice — and Highlights Every Hyperscaler's Power Risk4 weeks agoMARKETSFTC Threatens Booking Holdings Over Priceline Practiceslast weekENERGYNew Jersey's Nuclear Energy Law Opens a Real Revenue Path for Small Reactor Developers4 weeks agoDEFENSERising Defense Spending Lifts Northrop Grumman Outlooklast weekDEFENSEPentagon's $80M Drone Defense Contract Points to the Counter-UAS Names Worth Watching4 weeks agoTRADE & TARIFFSTrump Administration Hits $100B Tariff Refund Milestonelast weekDEFENSEU.S.-Iran Conflict Escalation Stalls Hormuz Shipping — Defense Contractors and Oil Majors Are the Immediate Read4 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDACMS Raises IRF Payments for 2027—Rehab Hospitals Get Relieflast weekWHITE HOUSETrump's Defense Supply Chain Order Tightens Waiver Rules — Domestic Parts Makers Win, Foreign-Sourced Primes Face Friction4 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDACMS Ends Medicare Part D Subsidy—Drug Plan Insurers Face Margin Pressurelast weekHEALTHCARE & FDACMS Freezes $1 Billion in Medicaid Payments to California and Minnesota — Managed Care Insurers Face Revenue Gaps3 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDAHHS Boosts Hospital Payments by $2 Billion—Acute Care Operators Winlast weekTECHBosch's $225M CHIPS Act Award for Roseville Chips Away at U.S. Dependence on Asian Auto Semiconductors3 weeks agoTRADE & TARIFFSAmazon Pockets $600M Tariff Refund—Retail Rivals Face Margin Squeezelast weekENERGYTrump's Saudi Nuclear Pact Without Enrichment Safeguards Heads to Congress — U.S. Uranium and Nuclear Services Names Are the Play3 weeks agoENERGYMichigan Court Vacates Line 5 Permit—Enbridge Faces Shutdown Risklast weekWHITE HOUSETrump's Critical Minerals Order Cuts China Out of the Defense Supply Chain — and Sends Money to U.S. Miners3 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDAHumana Exits MA Markets—600K Members Face Plan Disruptionlast weekCRYPTOWhite House Concedes Ethics Provision in Crypto Bill — Clearing the Last Roadblock for Stablecoin Legislation3 weeks agoWHITE HOUSETrump Blocks Critical Minerals Exports—U.S. Miners Get Protected Marketlast weekDEFENSEHouse Passes $1.15T Defense Bill — Missile Defense, Shipbuilding, and Next-Gen Air Get the Money3 weeks agoDEFENSEHouse Passes $95B Iran War Package—Defense Contractors Lock in Revenuelast weekTRADE & TARIFFSTrump's 50% Canada Tariff Threat Keeps U.S. Aluminum Tight — Domestic Producers Win, Manufacturers Pay3 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDAFDA Revokes Petroleum-Based Food Dyes—Natural Color Makers Winlast weekENERGYNRC Approves Holtec's Upgraded Spent Fuel Storage System — A Quiet Win for Nuclear's Capacity Expansion3 weeks agoTECHCommerce Awards $874M in Semiconductor R&D LOIs—Chip Makers Get Federal Backing2 weeks agoDEFENSEOracle Lands a $7B Pentagon Software Contract — and the Market Should Take It Seriously3 weeks agoTRADE & TARIFFSAmazon Gets $600M Tariff Refund—Retailers Lift Guidance on Windfall2 weeks agoDEFENSEThe U.S.-Iran War Is Costing $37.5B and Counting — Here's Where That Money Goes3 weeks agoSEARCH DEMANDData Center Power Exchange2 weeks agoENERGYTrump Signs the Saudi Nuclear Deal — and U.S. Uranium and Reactor Companies Are the Quiet Winners3 weeks agoSEARCH DEMANDCasgevy List Price: $2.2 Million2 weeks agoWHITE HOUSETrump's Critical Minerals Order Cuts China Out of the Military Supply Chain — These Miners Fill the Gap3 weeks agoENERGYPHMSA Updates Pipeline Safety Standards—Compliance Costs Hit Operators, Benefit Inspectors2 weeks agoCRYPTOThe Senate's Landmark Crypto Bill Creates Winners Inside the ETF and Exchange Stack3 weeks agoMARKETSSEC Explores 23-Hour Stock Trading—Market Makers and Tech Platforms Get New Revenue2 weeks agoTRADE & TARIFFSTariffs on Indian Pharma Are Coming — and U.S. Generic Drug Buyers Will Pay the Bill3 weeks agoDEFENSEHouse Passes $1.15T Defense Bill—Lockheed, Raytheon, General Dynamics Lock in Revenue2 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDACMS's Star Ratings Overhaul Rescues the Biggest Medicare Advantage Insurers — For Now3 weeks agoDEFENSEPentagon Awards Largest F-35 Spare Parts Contract—Lockheed Locks in Sustainment Revenue2 weeks agoMARKETSChina's $765M Antitrust Fine on Trip.com Is a Warning Shot for U.S.-Listed Chinese Consumer Stocks3 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDACMS Stars Redo Lifts Medicare Advantage Insurers—Rating System Overhaul Favors UnitedHealth, Humana, Anthem2 weeks agoDEFENSEPentagon's $7B Oracle Software Deal Is One of the Cleanest Defense-Tech Wins in Years3 weeks agoCRYPTOSEC Settles Coinbase FOIA Suit Over Missing Gensler Texts—Crypto Compliance Pressure Eases, Coinbase Stock Gains Clarity2 weeks agoDEFENSEPentagon Awards Oracle $7B Software Consolidation Deal—Direct Win for Oracle, Pressure on Smaller Defense IT Rivals3 weeks agoDEFENSEPentagon Awards Oracle $7B Software Consolidation Deal—Cloud Incumbents Face Pressure, Oracle Locks in Defense Revenue2 weeks agoTECHFCC Tightens Submarine Cable Licensing Rules—Tech Giants Face New Compliance Costs, Telecom Carriers Gain Regulatory Clarity3 weeks agoDEFENSERocket Lab Wins $266M Space Force Missile Defense Contract—Suborbital Launch Niche Gets Federal Validation2 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDACMS Overhauls Medicare Advantage Star Ratings—UnitedHealth, Humana, and Anthem Positioned to Gain from Simplified Metrics3 weeks agoHEALTHCARE & FDACMS Overhauls Medicare Advantage Star Ratings—Big Insurers Win, Quality Metrics Tighten3 weeks agoDEFENSEHouse Passes $1.15 Trillion Defense Bill—Lockheed, Raytheon, and General Dynamics Positioned for Record Spending3 weeks agoDEFENSERocket Lab Wins $266M Space Force Contract—Suborbital Launch Capability Becomes Defense Asset3 weeks agoDEFENSEPentagon Awards Oracle $7B Software Consolidation Deal—Largest Defense IT Overhaul in Years3 weeks ago
That's your last free article this week. Create a free account for 4 a week — or go Pro for everything.Go Pro →
Energy

The SMR Funding Funnel: How DOE's Loan Billions Flow to Small Modular Reactors

The Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office is sitting on hundreds of billions in authority for advanced nuclear — and the licensing clock is ticking for the two pure-play SMR companies that can actually draw from it.

Image: Money Racket
By at Money Racket · Jun 19, 2026

Washington doesn't build nuclear plants. It de-risks them. The DOE's Loan Programs Office — supercharged by the Inflation Reduction Act and subsequent Congressional directives — holds conditional loan guarantee authority expressly carved out for advanced nuclear projects, including small modular reactors. The mechanism is straightforward: as an SMR developer clears a Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing milestone, it becomes eligible to draw on that guarantee, dramatically lowering the cost of capital that has historically strangled nuclear development before a single rod of fuel is loaded. For investors, the question isn't whether SMRs get built in the abstract — it's which companies are positioned inside the funding funnel when the guarantees convert from conditional to committed.

Washington doesn't build nuclear plants. It de-risks them — and the companies inside the DOE funding funnel when guarantees convert from conditional to committed are the ones that matter.

Who cashes in

SMR (NuScale Power) is the only SMR developer to have received NRC design certification for a modular reactor design in the United States, which is the specific licensing milestone the LPO framework rewards. That certification is a non-trivial competitive moat. NuScale's path to a loan guarantee is shorter in regulatory distance than any competitor. The company's commercial project pipeline, particularly through international partnerships, also signals proof-of-concept demand that strengthens a loan application.

OKLO (Oklo Inc.) is further back on the licensing curve but is operating in a regulatory environment that has shifted materially in its favor. The NRC's licensing reform push, backed by Congressional pressure, is compressing the review timeline for Oklo's Aurora compact fast reactor. A conditional loan guarantee commitment locks in a cost-of-capital advantage before the company needs to raise construction equity — timing that matters enormously for a pre-revenue developer.

CCJ (Cameco) and LEU (Centrus Energy) are the upstream fuel play. SMRs don't run on conventional low-enriched uranium — they require high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), and the U.S. domestic supply chain for HALEU is thin. Every new SMR project that clears a financing milestone creates direct, contracted demand for fuel enrichment capacity. Centrus holds the only NRC license to produce HALEU at its Piketon, Ohio facility. Cameco, as the largest publicly traded uranium miner, benefits from rising base demand certainty as the project pipeline firms up.

Who is exposed

GEV (GE Vernova) competes in the advanced reactor space through its BWRX-300 design, which is further from U.S. commercial deployment than NuScale's certified design. A DOE funding commitment to NuScale-architecture projects channels capital and regulatory bandwidth away from competing designs, slowing GEV's domestic SMR timeline. GEV's gas turbine business remains strong, but its nuclear segment faces a narrowing window for first-mover advantage in the U.S. market.

What to watch

Track LPO conditional commitment announcements at energy.gov/lpo — each one names the borrower and the project stage. An NRC combined license application acceptance for Oklo's Aurora would be the clearest signal that the company has entered the guaranteed-funding eligible tier. Uranium spot prices (via CCJ and LEU share price action) tend to front-run LPO news by weeks, making them a useful leading indicator for the entire SMR funding cycle.

Source: original report ↗

Free alerts

Free: catalyst alerts, straight to your inbox.

Get the White House orders, federal contracts, and FDA decisions that move money — with who cashes in — free. Unsubscribe in one click.

Free · weekly · unsubscribe anytime. Privacy.

Stay three moves ahead of every practice in your market.

Knowing it happened is table stakes. Money Racket Pro hands you the play — what each move means for your margins, your license, and your patients, and exactly what to do about it — in a two-minute brief, twice a week. The owners who read it never get blindsided.

Get the edge · $40/mo

Join the owners who run ahead of the industry. Cancel anytime, one click.

Share

https://moneyracket.com/article/doe-loan-guarantee-smr-funding-funnel-nuclear/

Discussion

    Leave a comment

    Comments are reviewed before they appear.
    Money Racket Pro

    By the time it's news, the money's already moved.

    The contract award, the executive order, the tariff cut — it mints winners before the financial press connects the dots. Pro gets you there first: what happened, who cashes in, and exactly what to watch — in a two-minute read.

    Go Pro · $40/mo The policy-to-profit brief. Cancel anytime.
    The pre-market brief · Mon–Sat, 7:45am ET Go Pro · $40/mo →