Uranium explorer Eagle Nuclear Energy to go public after blank check merger

By Katha Kalia

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Uranium exploration company Eagle Nuclear Energy will begin trading on Nasdaq on Wednesday, following its merger with the blank-check firm, Spring Valley Acquisition Corp II SVIIF.PK.

The listing on Nasdaq comes as nuclear energy in the U.S. gains traction after decades of stagnation, fueled by surging electricity demand from power-hungry data centers.

Eagle Nuclear's flagship project, named Aurora, is one of the largest undeveloped uranium deposits in the U.S., along the border between Oregon and Nevada.

The project does not yet have any offtake agreements, CEO Mark Mukhija said in an interview, but added it has begun to receive initial interest, given that supply is expected to come online in the early 2030s.

He also expects it to be of interest to the U.S. Department of Energy as the company completes its pre-feasibility study.

Eagle Nuclear expects to start production in 2032, but the timeline could be accelerated as the industry is seeing favorable conditions, such as support from U.S. President Donal Trump's administration, Mukhija added.

Last year, Trump issued executive orders seeking to speed up permissions for nuclear reactors, allowing the DoE to authorize the test reactors without approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Mukhija also expects hyperscalers to start looking at uranium producers, and not just utilities, as a source of power supply within the next couple of years.

Eagle Nuclear's merger with SVAC II includes a $30 million public-private investment that is expected to fund the company's operations for about two years.

The uranium explorer will begin trading under the ticker symbols "NUCL" and "NUCLW."