Top Stories; Betting on the nuclear renaissance: How investors are weighing risk amid surging clean energy demand
Top Stories — Monday, September 8, 2025
What is trending in the USA today? Here is Breaking News:
- Betting on the nuclear renaissance: How investors are weighing risk amid surging clean energy demand — CNBC
- Volkswagen targets dominance in Europe with affordable EV push — CNBC
- InDrive has big plans to become a global 'super app' where others have failed — TechCrunch
Betting on the nuclear renaissance: How investors are weighing risk amid surging clean energy demand
Source: CNBC • Published: 9/8/2025, 1:58:05 PM
LONDON — Surging power demand has reignited interest in nuclear energy, but vast capital requirements and an uncertain political and regulatory climate raise questions about the sector's fiscal capacity.
Tech giants are pumping money into nuclear energy investments, looking to power energy-intensive data centers and realize their AI ambitions.
AI and data centers are the "canary in the coal mine," World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León told CNBC ahead of the conference. "We are finally recognizing that the demand of electricity and energy in general is only going to increase. But the reality is that all sectors of the economy are going to need more electricity."
In addition to AI, applications range from nuclear energy for the metallurgical industry, which is looking to electrify as fast as possible, to the chemical, maritime and shipping sectors, León said.
The question of how to meet the world's growing power needs took center stage as chief executives of the world's biggest uranium and nuclear energy firms, experts and investors gathered for the annual World Nuclear Association (WNA) symposium at the Royal Lancaster London hotel last week.
Kicking off discussions at the conference, Leon told attendees in her welcoming speech that the event is a "working summit" looking to move past mere conversation.
Investments in the nuclear value chain through 2025 are projected to increase to $2.2 trillion, according to Morgan Stanley estimates, up from a 2024 forecast of $1.5 trillion. That level of investment raises questions over the role of government, banks and other financial players in providing sufficient fiscal capacity.
Nuclear energy is said to provide a more reliable, 24/7 energy source compared to renewables, which can be more intermittent. The development of small modular reactors (SMRs) provides a more scalable power solution due to their size. According to the IEA, the payback period of a SMR investment is half the usual 20 to 30-year period for larger scale projects.
But SMRs have yet to reach the commercial stage, and most planned projects won't come online until 2030. While a significant amount of money is being pledged, there have been no new large-scale nuclear projects in the U.S. in the last 15 years.
"The first positive story with respect to the financial sector with regards to nuclear, is that they are open to financing nuclear," Mahesh Goenka, founder of market and commercial advisory firm Old Economy, told CNBC on the sidelines of WNA. "That was not the story a few years ago when a lot of banks didn't want to touch nuclear projects. That has changed. The question now remains, do they have the risk appetite to finance nuclear projects?"
Challenges include over-running budgets, the late delivery of projects due to long construction lead times, the technical complexity of initiatives and difficulties obtaining licenses.
Goenka compared the West to China, where financial institutions are happy to finance nuclear projects because they can be delivered on time and on budget — leading to better margins than on other infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, the West has not built many new reactors in a very long time, so the learning rate is not quite there yet, he said.
Nearly all of the nuclear generating capacity in the U.S. comes from reactors built between 1967 and 1990, with no new constructions until 2013 when work started on the Vogtle units in Georgia. Meanwhile, the last plant to be built in the U.K. was Sizewell B, which started operating in 1995.
Nuclear investments are "inherently political projects," said Mark Muldowney, managing director of energy, resources and infrastructure at BNP Paribas. He noted that, while clients are much more receptive to the investments, uncertainty over cost and build time remains.
"We are many years away from the situation in which techniques like project finance can be used by themselves to finance large nuclear [projects]," he said during a panel discussion.
"It's not going to be the contractors, even if they were willing to, and by and large they aren't, they will be bankrupted by some of the risks that sit with these projects. So it's either going to be a government, or it's going to be the electricity consumers of that country, and in some places that could be intermediated by utilities."
Nuclear power plants are among the most capital intensive assets. The U.K., for example, has greenlit the construction of a massive two-reactor nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast that will generate 3.2 gigawatts of electricity — enough, the government says, to provide power for the equivalent of 6 million homes. But costs of the majority government-owned project have jumped to £38 billion, exceeding an initial target of £20 billion.
Other major projects have run into similar issues. The Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia, ran several years behind schedule and had a budget that more than doubled during development. The U.K.'s Hinkley Point nuclear power point faced many concerns around security risks during its initial stages, as well as a budget that swelled to an estimated £40 billion.
Trevor Myburgh, senior executive in corporate finance advisory at Eskom, stressed that the private sector cannot be a "silver bullet" and solve the problem of financing nuclear energy.
Public private partnerships are going to be "crucial" in the development of nuclear, particularly in any emerging economy, Myburgh said during a panel discussion on Wednesday.
While some European countries such as Switzerland — which currently has a ban on the construction of any new nuclear plants but has drafted legislation to lift this motion — and Germany remain adverse to nuclear energy, other governments such as those of the U.K., France, and the U.S. have leaned into the energy source.
Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders designed to fast track the development of nuclear reactors and quadruple nuclear generating capacity by 2025.
Such actions from Trump's administration have put positive nuclear energy policies "on steroids," said Uranium Royalty Corp CEO Scott Melbye.
"What we're seeing are really concrete measures being taken by this administration to spur not only the building of small modular reactors, advanced reactors and large reactors, but [also] in the fuel cycle," Melbye told WNA attendees.
Investor Arfa Karani noted the growing interest from the investor community to find opportunities with startups, particularly those that supply nuclear-adjacent tech.
The U.K. government, in particular has adopted a more "hands-on" approach in helping founders understand how to invest in clean tech, she said.
"The regulation has to figure itself out. It's no longer a question of, where do we get the capital from? ....because now suddenly it's become a matter of national security and global power and global dominance," she told CNBC, adding that commitment Stateside to funding AI and nuclear has meant that "all the insolvable problems suddenly becomes solvable which is very exciting for nuclear."
Volkswagen targets dominance in Europe with affordable EV push
Source: CNBC • Published: 9/8/2025, 1:31:54 PM
The chief executive of Volkswagen says the German auto giant is pushing to strengthen its electromobility dominance in Europe with a new lineup of compact and affordable electric vehicles.
Volkswagen, the largest supplier of electric cars in both Germany and Europe this year, unveiled the small all-electric ID. Cross Concept car over the weekend, before a roll-out into the market in the first half of next year.
This is Volkswagen's fourth launch in a family of new electric models, following the ID.2 all, the ID. GTI Concept and the ID. EVERY1.
"We have worked hard during the last years to improve our software, to improve our battery offerings. This family will be the first where we are introducing our unified cell concept in terms of battery," Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume told CNBC's Annette Weisbach on Monday.
"We will be competitive and right now, in Europe, for example, we are a market leader by far in electromobility with 28% market share. This family is another push to making this market share even bigger," Blume said.
Volkswagen's ID. Cross Concept car will have an entry price level of around 25,000 euros ($29,316), Blume said.
His comments come shortly before the kick-off of the IAA Mobility car show in Munich, where struggling European carmakers are expected to face off with Chinese newcomers.
Shares of Volkswagen are up around 12.2% so far this year, despite U.S. tariff pressures on the European auto industry.
Asked about the robust competition posed by Chinese EV rivals, Blume said he welcomed the challenge.
"Competition, for me, is very positive. It is like in sport: when you have good competitors, you have to be better. That's what we have been prepared to do in the last years, in terms of improving ourselves," Blume said.
"I don't fear the competition," he added.
As Mercedes-Benz Group CEO Ola Källenius recently put it: "Our industry is experiencing heavy rain, hail, storms and snow at the same time."
Volkswagen's Blume welcomed a recent trade breakthrough between the U.S. and European Union, with an agreement expected to bring U.S. auto import tariffs to 15%, down from 27.5%.
The new tariff rate, however, will still be a "burden" for the company, according to Blume, who added that the company intends to continue investing heavily in the U.S.
InDrive has big plans to become a global 'super app' where others have failed
Source: TechCrunch • Published: 9/8/2025, 1:30:00 PM
InDrive has big plans to become a global 'super app' where others have failed
InDrive, known for its bidding-based ride-hailing model across Asia and Latin America, is rolling out a "super-app" strategy aimed at frontier markets — expanding beyond cabs to deliver daily essentials to its users.
Beginning with grocery deliveries in Kazakhstan, InDrive plans to expand into multiple verticals over the next 12 months across its top markets, including Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan, Peru, and Mexico. The shift comes on the heels of more than 360 million app downloads and 6.5 billion transactions globally, cementing its position as the world's second most-downloaded ride-hailing app, behind Uber, since 2022.
"If customers use you more frequently, then, of course, they stay longer, they're more valuable in the ecosystem, and they're just more loyal overall," said Andries Smit, chief growth business officer at InDrive, in an exclusive interview.
InDrive chose grocery delivery as its first expansion move after seeing rapid growth in its delivery segment — with over 41 million orders completed worldwide in 2024 and more than 14 million in Q2 2025 alone — making it one of the fastest-scaling categories in the company's portfolio.
The Mountain View, California-based company has launched its grocery delivery service in Kazakhstan, offering over 5,000 products with a 15-minute delivery promise. Early pilots in the Central Asian country yielded a net promoter score of 83% — signaling high customer satisfaction — and an average of five grocery orders per user per month, the company said.
Smit told TechCrunch that InDrive is using a dark store model for grocery deliveries in Kazakhstan, with most items focused on ready-to-eat meals and around 10% consisting of fresh products — part of a strategy to boost customer retention. He added that the model will vary in other regions, where the company is open to partnering locally, particularly in markets with a dense network of mom-and-pop stores.
Without sharing specifics, Smit said that the company has added 30% more dark stores in the country since August.
Smit told TechCrunch that the company decided to do so after seeing a "huge uptick" in consumers going digital in the country, which is the largest economy across Central Asia. InDrive also has its largest headcount in Kazakhstan, serving as a central hub for its R&D and operations.
InDrive did not disclose specific growth metrics for its operations in Kazakhstan. However, a recent report by Dealroom, published in collaboration with the government-backed tech park Astana Hub, noted that the company saw a 44% growth in the country over the past 12 months.
The report also valued Kazakhstan's tech ecosystem at $26 billion — an 18-fold jump since 2019 — suggesting a sharp rise in local startup formation, funding, and digital services.
Kazakhstan already has grocery delivery apps to fulfill some of the demand. Nonetheless, InDrive wants to win the market predominantly with affordable pricing — aiming to be the Aldi of online groceries.
"There is access and inequality, and even access issues with some of the groceries," said Smit. "Some of our cost-conscious consumers end up not buying from the right places or not buying the right goods, and they recognize that, but they feel they have no other choice."
Many companies have tried to succeed with super apps. While some, like WeChat and Gojek, have found success, others — including Meta — have struggled to gain traction.
Smit, who worked with WeChat in his former role in 2016, experienced how the integrated experience on the Chinese app worked well. He told TechCrunch that, by leveraging his expertise and utilizing AI capabilities, InDrive plans to make its super-app strategy successful. The AI integration would help bring personalization to users and make services accessible to people with disabilities and those with lower literacy, he said.
In November 2023, InDrive announced a venture and merger and acquisition arm to invest up to $100 million over the next few years. Smit told TechCrunch that of that venture, about 30% has already been deployed on the super-app strategy.
The company invested in Pakistan's grocery startup, Krave Mart, in December as part of that venture. However, there is no concrete timeline on when InDrive's app will offer grocery deliveries to users in Pakistan.
InDrive's arch-rival Uber has also expanded its service portfolio, adding verticals like food delivery through Uber Eats in select markets. Smit said InDrive targets a different customer segment — one that Uber typically doesn't serve — though there is some overlap in certain regions.
"By and large, we really support and play into a cost-conscious consumer," he said.
In addition to frontier markets including Kazakhstan, InDrive has been operating in India for some time, competing with Uber as well as homegrown players such as Ola and Rapido. However, the company has not picked up in the South Asian nation. Uber even piloted a version of InDrive's bidding model in India, attempting to replicate the approach.
Data from Appfigures exclusively shared with TechCrunch shows that InDrive saw 1.07 million fewer downloads year-to-date compared to the same period in 2024 — a 22.6% decline. In contrast, Uber added 8.02 million downloads, up 60.6%, while Ola gained 1.55 million, a 13.2% increase. Rapido emerged as the fastest-growing player, with 14.9 million additional downloads — an 80.9% surge.
"India is a puzzle for us," Smit told TechCrunch. "India is still growing, and we are focused… we've decided to focus very quickly on key cities where we really think we want to operate strongly."
The company is testing different models, especially in the freight business, though it is known for allowing riders to haggle with drivers. These include different payment mechanisms for drivers to get paid daily and even go with a specific take rate, Smit said.
InDrive faced early challenges and saw limited success at first — even in markets like Pakistan, where it later became the leading ride-hailing platform following Uber's exit.
"We've had sleeper markets where the markets sort of drifted, and then for whatever case, maybe one of the competitors falters," Smit said.
More than a dozen riders and drivers in India told TechCrunch that safety concerns were a key reason they no longer prefer using InDrive. Some drivers said the app's bidding model had been exploited by riders — and, in some cases, even by fellow drivers posing as riders to hassle their peers by aggressively haggling.
Smit said that the company prioritizes safety and customer service.
"Yes, we need to do a lot more in talking to this safety perception and in teaching and educating our drivers and passengers," he said.
InDrive plans to expand its super-app offering by launching new services tailored to local market needs. Smit told TechCrunch that these could include financial services. One example is already live in markets including Brazil and Mexico, where drivers can access small loans through the ride-hailing app. The company is exploring ways to extend this to passengers — and potentially to small businesses involved in deliveries, the executive added.
The company also plans to explore a service that enables micro-mobility, allowing its consumers to connect with local businesses and public transportation services.
"We want to be city-specific, and it could be a bouquet of different services," Smit said. "We want to capture the key verticals that we have capability for, that we know and are very close to our core… But if we have no experience in running, for those kinds of services, we will definitely just partner with the right player."
Jagmeet covers startups, tech policy-related updates, and all other major tech-centric developments from India for TechCrunch. He previously worked as a principal correspondent at NDTV.
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