AI Power Race Pits Bloom Energy’s Fuel Cells Against Oklo’s Nuclear Ambitions

Surging electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers has put two very different power companies in the spotlight: Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE), a commercialized fuel cell manufacturer, and Oklo (NYSE:OKLO), a developer of small modular nuclear reactors still working toward commercial deployment.

Bloom Energy’s solid oxide fuel cells generate onsite electricity through an electrochemical process that avoids combustion, running on fuels such as natural gas or hydrogen. The company counts data center operators and semiconductor manufacturers among its core customers, and its latest annual report identified Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) as a significant customer tied to a large power campus project. Utility partnerships, including with American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) and Brookfield (NYSE:BN), anchor much of its business — though the release notes that this customer concentration introduces its own risk profile.

Oklo, by contrast, is pre-revenue at scale. Its Aurora Powerhouse reactor is designed to deliver between 15 and 75 megawatts of electricity, and the company is also working on nuclear fuel recycling and fuel fabrication capabilities.

The market has rewarded both names recently. Bloom Energy shares traded at $267.22, up 3.45% from a prior close of $258.30, valuing the company at roughly $60.6 billion. Oklo shares rose 3.33% to $41.27 from $39.94, giving it a market capitalization of approximately $6.76 billion — a fraction of Bloom’s, reflecting its earlier stage of development.

The comparison highlights a broader dynamic in the AI infrastructure buildout: established, deployable generation technology with real customer contracts versus a longer-horizon bet on advanced nuclear. Bloom offers proven hardware today; Oklo’s proposition depends on regulatory approval and successful commercialization of fission technology that has yet to reach scale in the U.S. market.

What to watch

• Progress on Oklo’s Aurora Powerhouse, including licensing milestones and timelines for first deployments.
• Expansion of Bloom Energy’s data center and utility partnerships, including execution on the Meta-linked power campus project.
• Upcoming quarterly earnings reports from both companies for updates on revenue, backlog, and guidance.
• Broader trends in AI-driven electricity demand and any new customer or supply agreements in the onsite power sector.

Source: original release