NU E Power: Electricity as a Critical Bottleneck
Is the AI boom at risk of running into power constraints? The warnings are becoming increasingly specific. On October 5, Reuters reported on an assessment by Morgan Stanley suggesting that power shortages could delay the expansion of US AI data centres. The International Energy Agency (IEA) likewise identifies insufficient grid capacity as a critical bottleneck. Additional power-generation projects are therefore becoming increasingly important to support further growth. NU E Power is positioning itself to address this need.
NU E Power relies on a business model that CEO Broderick Gunning, in an interview with Lyndsay Malchuk of the IIF, compares to that of a real estate developer. The company develops energy projects to the point where they are ready for financing and then sells them. NUE leaves the capital-intensive construction and long-term operation to the buyers. These may include large infrastructure investors, hyperscalers such as Amazon and Alphabet, or other data centre operators. CFO John Meekison plans to use the proceeds to fund new projects and, over the long term, potentially return capital to shareholders.
After selling a project, NU E Power intends to retain a stake in its electricity production through so-called royalties. This recurring revenue stream is designed to complement the more irregular proceeds from project sales. Gunning believes such royalty payments could potentially exceed the original sale proceeds over a 5-year period. In addition, the company is exploring tokenization as a potential future model to make the economic value of generated electricity digitally tradable. When selecting projects, NUE focuses on economic viability and the availability of potential electricity customers. Management also considers permitting timelines and local political acceptance.
NU E Power has several projects in its pipeline. In Alberta, the company plans to fully acquire the Hays solar project, which has a planned capacity of 145 MWac alongside a 61.5 MW or 123 MWh battery storage facility. The non-binding letter of intent (LOI) provides for an expected purchase price of CAD 7.25 million, including the storage facility. Completion of the acquisition remains subject to seven conditions precedent. Hays currently has no executed interconnection agreement, power purchase agreement or other offtake arrangement in place.
At the same time, NU E Power is collaborating with Luxxfolio to explore how energy projects could be integrated with Litecoin mining or high-performance data centres. On-site power generation is intended to shorten connection timelines and reduce costs. The collaboration with Luxxfolio is an agreement to evaluate these possibilities, with any specific arrangement subject to further due diligence.
In addition, in early August 2026, NUE announced a non-binding LOI to purchase nearly 12 hectares of land in the Regina area for CAD 2.7 million. The land has not yet been developed or zoned for industrial use. The purchase is contingent, among other things, on a successful due diligence review, financing, and the necessary permits.
https://youtu.be/gBC7b2pahOU?si=G0tUV0SPe9x6Q4Xj
LPKF Laser: Between AI Hype and a Lowered Forecast
LPKF Laser & Electronics is one of Germany’s rising stars in the AI boom. With its LIDE® technology, the company enables the processing of glass substrates for the next generation of high-performance semiconductors. But for now, the stock is still riding on hope. Most recently, the company had to revise its annual forecast downward.
Montega nevertheless maintains its “Buy” recommendation for LPKF and sees its fair value at EUR 22. The stock is currently trading at about EUR 15.30. A lack of government approvals is delaying expected solar orders from China. Revenue from these orders is now not expected until 2027. Realization is also being delayed in the advanced packaging business. LPKF continues to expect its first orders for LIDE® technology in the fourth quarter; however, the announced order from an Asian manufacturer is not expected to contribute to revenue until the first half of 2027. Montega lowered its 2026 revenue estimate from EUR 105 million to EUR 98 million. The company’s new forecast ranges from EUR 93 million to EUR 100 million.
Analysts now expect an EBIT margin of minus 8.7% instead of the previously projected minus 6.4%. Cost savings from the efficiency program are evident but insufficient. According to the Executive Board, cost reductions have already exceeded the target, thereby offsetting part of the revenue shortfall. Next year, pent-up solar revenue and the expansion of the LIDE® business are expected to drive growth. Whether this acceleration succeeds, however, depends largely on whether the expected advanced packaging orders actually generate revenue. Following a share price increase of more than 150% this year, the market capitalization now stands at an impressive EUR 398.2 million.
Nebius: Acquisition and Palantir Partnership
Nebius’s stock has even gained over 170% this year. The data centre operator is considered one of the rising stars of the AI boom. After a period of weakness in the summer, the share price is once again approaching its all-time high.
Most recently, the company announced an acquisition. Nebius has purchased Inferize, a company specializing in the more efficient execution of AI models. Inferize was founded as recently as January 2026 and developed a functional prototype within three months. The technology is designed to shorten large-model load times and make additional computing capacity available faster. Until now, graphics processing units (GPUs) have sometimes remained idle when models are launched or updated. At the same time, operators must maintain reserve capacity to handle demand peaks. Inferize is designed to reduce these idle periods and align available capacity more closely with actual demand. Nebius aims to use this to improve the utilization of its infrastructure and lower the cost per processed token. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
In September, Nebius made headlines with its partnership with Palantir. Palantir has designated Nebius as its preferred infrastructure partner for sovereign AI. As part of the strategic collaboration, Nebius’s computing and cloud infrastructure will be integrated into Palantir’s secure corporate environment. Authorized business customers would be able to run open AI models there and tailor them to their specific needs using their own data, while retaining control over both the data and the models. In addition, both companies aim to provision additional computing capacity more quickly. To this end, plans include modular data centres at locations where power is already available. This gives Nebius access to potential customers from Palantir’s commercial client base.
The recent strength of companies such as Nvidia and Nebius, combined with US President Trump’s support for the industry, suggests that the AI boom remains firmly in focus. NU E Power aims to help ensure that the expansion of AI does not run into power constraints. The company currently has several projects in development to address this growing demand. LPKF, meanwhile, faces a different set of challenges. The company has disappointed on several occasions in the past and has struggled to translate its technological potential into sustained growth.
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