Canadian uranium producer Cameco Corporation has welcomed an announcement made by the US Department of Energy's (DoE's) Office of Energy Dominance Financing on its conditional commitment for the American Nuclear Supply Chain Loans to re-energise the large-scale nuclear reactor supply chain, drive down costs and accelerate the deployment of AP1000 reactors in the US and globally.

The DoE’s conditional commitment for a loan package of up to $17.5-billion is expected to provide the majority of the financing for Westinghouse Electric Company to purchase the long-lead time items for up to ten AP1000 nuclear reactors in the US.

“We are pleased to see the US government make this additional commitment to expanding nuclear power capacity using the proven AP1000 reactor technology,” says Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel. 

“When combined with the May 23, 2025 Executive Orders and other US government initiatives, we believe the right incentives are being created to advance the rapid deployment of AP1000 reactors in the US. The expansion of nuclear power in the US is expected to create significant opportunities for Westinghouse and Cameco, accelerating growth in Westinghouse’s energy systems segment during the procurement and subsequent construction phase," he adds.

While this conditional commitment indicates the DoE’s intent to provide a loan to finance these projects, Westinghouse, its owners, and its partners must satisfy certain technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before the DoE enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loan.

Brookfield Renewable Partners and Cameco acquired Westinghouse in November 2023. The partnership brought together Cameco’s expertise in the nuclear fuel supply chain with Brookfield’s recognised position as one of the world’s largest investors in energy generation technologies.

"We expect the DoE loan arrangement to be implemented through a special purpose vehicle of Westinghouse that will administer the loan funding for up to five project funding vehicles jointly owned by Westinghouse and the applicable partner for the procurement of the long-lead items at a fixed price for two reactors per project.

"Both the special purpose vehicle and the approved partner are required to fully commit their project equity totalling about $500-million each or $1-billion per project upfront prior to accessing DoE loan funds. As approved partners reach final investment decisions for the applicable projects, the DoE loan is expected to be repaid from the proceeds of the sale of the long-lead items," Gitzel concludes.