As demand grows for a reliable base load of zero carbon electricity, nuclear has come back into the picture. After years of stagnation, investors and governments are now looking to expand existing capacity, and reopen old plants.
Energy Capital Partners (ECP) gained exposure to the sector back in 2013, when it took nuclear services business EnergySolutions private. At the time, this was to capitalise on the wave of decommissioning taking place during the nuclear downturn. ECP would go on to exit the business in 2018.
Now it is going back into EnergySolutions, this time with a very different value proposition. Rising demand for nuclear power means the business is positioning to support the recommissioning of old plants, and the management of radioactive waste.
On today’s Stories of Transformation we’re joined by Drew Brown, a partner at ECP, to discuss the firm’s decision to reinvest.
We cover what’s changed since 2013 (1:38); ECP’s new investment thesis (3:46) and how the firm is looking to create value (6:40); hedging against a nuclear downturn (8:31); how nuclear competes with other energy sources (11:12); and the opportunity in recommissioning (12:19).
