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The Department of Energy (DOE) has narrowed the competition for its proposed Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses (NLICs) to five states: Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Idaho. The selection advances an effort that could create new investment and contracting opportunities across nearly every part of the nuclear value chain.

The biggest potential beneficiaries are not limited to reactor developers. Fuel suppliers, enrichment companies, manufacturers, and instrumentation providers could all participate. Companies with existing relationships in the five states may have an especially valuable head start.

Key Takeaways DOE selected five initial contenders after reviewing 28 applications from 26 states. The five states have signed memorandums of understanding to discuss potential hosting agreements. The proposed campuses could support enrichment, fuel fabrication, used-fuel recycling, waste management, reactors, manufacturing, power generation, and data centers. DOE estimates that the campuses could attract up to $50 billion in capital investment, generate as much as $10 billion in state and local tax revenue, and create nearly 25,000 jobs. DOE Has Moved From Competition to Negotiation The DOE introduced the NLIC concept earlier this year as a series of voluntary federal-state partnerships designed to rebuild the domestic nuclear fuel cycle. The agency said the campuses could include uranium enrichment, fuel fabrication, used-fuel reprocessing, recycling, and waste disposition. Depending on state priorities, they could also host advanced reactors, manufacturing facilities, power generation, and co-located data centers.

See more: Companies Set to Win as States Vie to Host Nuclear Campuses

DOE has now selected five initial contenders and signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) with each state to explore sighting potential NLICs in those states. The negotiations give states and companies an opportunity to assemble potential projects, financing structures, sites, infrastructure, and supply-chain partnerships.

Fuel companies such as Cameco (CCJ) and Centrus Energy (LEU) could address material and enrichment needs. BWX Technologies (BWXT), Curtiss-Wright (CW), Flowserve (FLS), and Mirion Technologies (MIR) represent different parts of the component, equipment, and instrumentation chain. Fluor (FLR) and Amentum (AMTM) bring engineering, construction, and nuclear-site management capabilities.

The result could be a multi-year contracting pipeline spread across the nuclear industry rather than a single award captured by one reactor company.

Utah Brings Fuel Materials and Waste Expertise Westinghouse (49% owned by Cameco (CCJ)) already maintains multiple Utah locations, including its Western Zirconium operation in Ogden. This existing industrial footprint could give Westinghouse an advantage if a Utah campus includes fuel materials, fabrication, or component production.

Terrestrial Energy (IMSR) has an MOU with Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions (private) to evaluate EnergySolutions-owned sites for Integral Molten Salt Reactor plants. EnergySolutions’ waste operations and licensed disposal facility in Clive create a natural connection between advanced reactors and the back end of the fuel cycle.

Tennessee Is Building an Advanced Fuel Cluster Oklo (OKLO) has announced plans for an advanced fuel center in Oak Ridge. The proposed investment could total $1.68 billion, with an initial facility recycling used nuclear fuel into material for fast reactors such as Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse.

NANO Nuclear Energy (NNE) has an indirect Tennessee connection through LIS Technologies (private). NANO invested $2 million in LIST and entered a strategic collaboration with the company. LIST separately plans a $1.38 billion Oak Ridge enrichment facility, giving NANO potential exposure to Tennessee’s growing fuel ecosystem.

Oklahoma Offers a Greenfield Opportunity Oklahoma lacks the established private nuclear-company footprint found in Tennessee or Idaho. That could make it the clearest greenfield opportunity for reactor developers and fuel companies seeking a new regional foothold.

The state does have institutional interest through the Grand River Dam Authority, which joined three Nebraska utilities in the Great Plains New Nuclear Consortium. The consortium is evaluating the build-out of nuclear capacity in the region.

Louisiana Adds Operating Plants and Manufacturing Louisiana already has an established commercial nuclear base with Entergy (ETR) operating grid-scale reactors at the River Bend Station and Waterford plants. Turner Industries (private) has also announced nuclear fabrication facilities in New Iberia and Port Allen. Turner’s expansion is expected to create 1,000 jobs producing nuclear-grade piping and modular components.

Another potential pathway runs through Applied Atomics (private), which has secured rights for deploying the BWX Technologies (BWXT) mPower reactor. The mPower design from BWXT is a small modular reactor (SMR) engineered for powering data centers and critical loads without connecting to a national electric grid. Applied Atomics is working with the state of Louisiana to site some of their first facilities.

Idaho Already Resembles a Nuclear Innovation Campus For decades, the state has hosted Idaho National Laboratories (INL), one of the country’s leading DOE facilities for nuclear energy research and development.

Oklo (OKLO) signed a DOE agreement supporting the construction and operation of its first Aurora reactor at INL. Its Idaho work also includes a facility intended to fabricate Aurora’s first fuel assemblies, a project that is well aligned with the integrated NLIC model.

Lightbridge (LTBR) is separately working with INL to fabricate and irradiate experimental advanced-fuel materials. An Idaho campus could provide additional infrastructure for fuel qualification and eventual commercialization.

NUKZX Tracks the Broader Opportunity The NLIC initiative illustrates why nuclear investment opportunities extend beyond uranium mining or choosing a single reactor developer. Building just one of the NLICs would require multiple companies across the nuclear value chain.

The VettaFi Nuclear Renaissance Index (NUKZX) is designed around four segments from the nuclear value chain: Advanced Reactors, Utilities, Construction & Services, and Fuel. Those categories closely map to the potential NLIC opportunity. That breadth also reduces the need for investors to predict which state, reactor design, or fuel technology will ultimately emerge as the biggest winner.

NUKZX serves as the underlying index for the Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF (NUKZ).

Related Research: Companies Set to Win as States Vie to Host Nuclear Campuses

The Consortium Fueling the Nuclear Renaissance

From Cold War Liability to Advanced Nuclear Fuel

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For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Nuclear Energy Content Hub.

vettafi.com is owned by VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”). VettaFi is the index provider for NUKZ, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, NUKZ is not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi. VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of NUKZ.

Mirion Technologies NYSE: MIR reported second-quarter revenue growth of nearly 20%, driven largely by acquisitions, while organic growth remained modest and the company maintained its full-year outlook on expectations for a stronger second half.

Second-quarter revenue rose 19.7% year over year to $266.8 million. Acquisitions, primarily Paragon, accounted for about 18 percentage points of that growth, while organic revenue increased 1%, in line with management’s April expectations. Adjusted EBITDA increased 27.5% to $65 million, and the adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 150 basis points, supported by pricing and favorable product mix.

Chairman and CEO Tom Logan said rising orders and backlog, along with margin expansion in both operating segments, position the company for an acceleration in the second half of 2026. “We’re maintaining our 2026 full-year guidance, which implies a meaningful step-up in financial performance for the remainder of the year,” Logan said.

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Orders and backlog expand on nuclear demand Second-quarter orders increased 40% to $291 million including a $62 million contribution from Paragon and Certrec. Before acquisitions, core orders rose 10%. The company said nuclear power orders, excluding M&A, grew about 50%, with growth split between demand from the operating nuclear fleet and small modular reactor, or SMR, projects.

Mirion booked $49 million in SMR orders during the quarter, up $42 million from a year earlier. The company’s backlog exceeded $1.1 billion at quarter-end, nearly 40% higher than a year ago. Legacy backlog, excluding additions from Paragon and Certrec, was up 17%, while the legacy installed-base portion of backlog rose nearly 40% year over year.

Logan said the company sees several sources of demand from the existing nuclear fleet, including catch-up spending on deferred maintenance, plant life extensions and upgrades, and digital transformation initiatives. He noted that roughly 80% of Mirion’s nuclear-power revenue is tied to the installed base, producing recurring and repeat business.

Management also cited policy, financing and project developments supporting the nuclear market, including U.S. regulatory proposals intended to streamline licensing, a Department of Energy loan program for reactor construction, and activity in advanced reactor designs. Logan said Mirion, Paragon and Certrec participated in each of four advanced reactor designs that reached criticality under the DOE reactor pilot program.

Large-order momentum tempered by China cancellation Mirion said it won several large opportunities during the second quarter, including a previously disclosed Paragon SMR order, a second portion of another SMR order, and a portion of a radioactive-waste-handling order in its defense and diversified end market. During the first two weeks of July, the company received more than $50 million of large orders, including a European installed-base order and a U.S. Department of Energy order.

Those July awards were partly offset by the cancellation of a Chinese new-build order originally booked in 2019. The associated sites had made little progress amid geopolitical tensions, according to management. The cancellation had no impact on 2026 guidance and only an immaterial effect on Mirion’s long-range guidance, CFO and Medical Group President Brian Schopfer said.

Logan said Mirion does not view the cancellation as signaling broader backlog risk. He said the company remains active in China’s installed base, serving 50 of the country’s 60 operating reactors, and has continued to generate a predictable spare-parts business there. However, he acknowledged that the company has no content in China’s indigenous Hualong reactor program.

Mirion had approximately $160 million of large opportunity awards year to date and about $280 million of opportunities remaining. Management characterized its screening methodology as opportunities above $10 million where it sees a greater-than-50% probability of winning, while emphasizing that timing remains the primary risk.

Segment results and medical outlook Nuclear and Safety revenue increased 31% to $186 million, including 2.3% organic growth. Paragon revenue increased 15% in the quarter and 27% year to date. Nuclear and Safety adjusted EBITDA rose 35% to $51 million, while the segment margin expanded about 70 basis points. Favorable European product mix, cost control and a modest U.S. tariff refund helped offset dilution from the Paragon acquisition.

Although nuclear power orders were strong, organic revenue in that end market was flat, as growth in installed-base and SMR activity was offset by lower new-build revenue. Schopfer said new-build revenue can be uneven based on project timing, but Mirion continues to expect double-digit organic revenue growth in nuclear power for the full year.

Medical segment revenue declined 1% to $81 million, with organic revenue also down 1%. Revenue in radiation therapy quality assurance, or RTQA, continued to grow, but nuclear medicine revenue declined because of delayed hardware demand, and dosimetry faced a difficult comparison with a large prior-year hardware order.

Mirion raised its full-year RTQA organic-growth outlook to double digits from a prior expectation of mid-single-digit-plus growth. The company reduced its nuclear medicine outlook to mid-single-digit growth from a prior double-digit forecast, citing delayed hardware demand that it views as a delay rather than a demand decline. Dosimetry organic revenue is now expected to decline for the year, compared with a prior forecast for flat performance, due to lower hardware revenue and difficult comparisons. Despite the revised end-market assumptions, management said these changes largely offset one another and reiterated full-year Medical segment guidance.

Cash flow, repurchases and second-half expectations Mirion generated $49 million in adjusted free cash flow during the quarter and $60 million in the first half, which Schopfer called the company’s best first-half adjusted free-cash-flow performance since going public. The company attributed the result to higher adjusted EBITDA, working-capital performance, lower cash taxes and refinancing-related benefits.

The company repurchased about 1.4 million shares for approximately $25 million in the second quarter. Year-to-date repurchases totaled roughly $40 million, leaving $40 million authorized under the current program.

Management said approximately 81% of expected full-year revenue is covered by first-half results and backlog expected to convert during the second half, comparable with prior years. For the third quarter, Mirion expects high-single-digit consolidated organic revenue growth, including mid-single-digit growth in Nuclear and Safety and high-single-digit growth in Medical. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to expand year over year, although Nuclear and Safety margins are expected to contract because of Paragon dilution, incentive-compensation comparisons and a greater mix of lower-margin new-build revenue.

About Mirion Technologies (NYSE:MIR)Mirion Technologies Inc NYSE: MIR is a leading global provider of radiation detection, measurement and monitoring solutions. The company's portfolio includes instrumentation, software and service offerings designed to detect, quantify and manage radiation in nuclear power, oil and gas, defense and homeland security, medical imaging and diagnostic applications. Mirion's product suite spans personal and environmental dosimetry, area monitors, digital imaging detectors and turnkey solutions for decommissioning and environmental remediation projects.

Mirion traces its origins to the combination of several established radiation measurement businesses, including the former Canberra nuclear instrumentation division, and has been supported by private equity investors before completing its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2023.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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Mirion Technologies, Inc. (MIR - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.12 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.1 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.11 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +20.00%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $0.1 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.1, delivering no surprise.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.

Mirion Technologies, which belongs to the Zacks Technology Services industry, posted revenues of $266.8 million for the quarter ended June 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.81%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $222.9 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Mirion Technologies shares have lost about 28.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.3%.

What's Next for Mirion Technologies?While Mirion Technologies has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Mirion Technologies was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.13 on $277.48 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.53 on $1.14 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Technology Services is currently in the bottom 42% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

One other stock from the same industry, ZenaTech, Inc. (ZENA - Free Report) , is yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026.

This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.21 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -50%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

ZenaTech, Inc.'s revenues are expected to be $6.97 million, up 330.3% from the year-ago quarter.