Editor's note: As we've discussed many times, energy is essential to the AI infrastructure build-out. As AI consumes more energy, we'll see markets and technology shift.
Our friend Joel Litman also has his eye on this situation...
Regular readers will remember Joel. He's the founder and chief investment officer of our corporate affiliate Altimetry. And we've occasionally shared his insights here in the Chaikin PowerFeed.
Today's essay from Joel was published in the June 25 edition of the free Altimetry Daily Authority e-letter. In it, he discusses the current "power war" that the AI revolution has unleashed.
Additionally, please note that the markets and our Chaikin Analytics offices will be closed tomorrow in observance of the Fourth of July holiday. So we won't publish our PowerFeed e-letter. You can expect to receive your next issue on Monday, July 6.
Now, we'll turn it over to Joel...
Europe was on fire... the clock was ticking... and a small group of Norwegian commandos had one mission...
Shut down the Nazi power plant – or die trying.
At first glance, Vemork looked like the sort of industrial site you'd expect to find near a river in a mountain valley.
But this chemical-and-power-plant combination was responsible for a crucial ingredient in the German war effort.
You see, Vemork produced something called heavy water... which can cool reactors better than normal water and facilitate nuclear fission more efficiently.
German scientists needed heavy water to create an atomic weapon. And the Allies knew that if Germany succeeded, they'd likely lose the war.
The Allies had already tried to invade Vemork once before...
British soldiers took gliders right to the front entrance. They rode in on bikes, armed with heavy weapons... aiming to punch straight through and destroy the facility.
But while the entrance offered the most obvious path in, it also offered the clearest point of resistance. The Nazis stopped them with ease. The heavy water kept flowing.
This time, the Allies were determined to succeed at any cost. Norwegian soldiers armed themselves with skis, bombs, and suicide pills. Instead of charging the front door, they treated the surrounding wilderness like the real access point...
Ten of their strongest skiers parachuted into the mountains and forests around the target area. There, they met up with a Norwegian spy and climbed the cliffs to Vemork completely undetected.
Once inside, the team used a map provided by resistance workers. They found the part of the plant responsible for heavy water... took two civilian workers hostage... and stuffed the plant full of timed explosives.
The guards stayed at their posts. None of the 30 Nazis on the premises realized anything was wrong until the team was already 20 meters out the door.
That's when the plant exploded.
Without Vemork, Germany fell months behind on its atomic research...
That delay gave the U.S. enough time to pull ahead with the Manhattan Project – turning the tide of the war.
"Operation Gunnerside," as it came to be known, was one of Germany's most devastating losses in World War II. And it offers a lesson that's just as applicable today...
Energy is everything.
We're in the middle of an entirely different power war these days with the AI revolution... It requires more energy than we're capable of producing.
Utilities and municipalities are facing a giant to-do list...
The real constraint often shows up before the first shovel hits the ground... in the engineering, permitting, and design.
It takes years to complete the planning and physical infrastructure needed to get a new power plant on line.
AI data centers and advanced factories (those which make semiconductors and batteries for the AI build-out) are all lining up for the same energy. And power companies are scrambling to expand the grid.
In today's power war, the energy bottleneck is a matter of national security.
Countries that can't power their AI infrastructure will fall behind... in economic output... in defense capability... and in the technologies that define the next decade.
The winners will be the ones that clear the path for energy sources before the demand for power surges.
Regards,
Joel Litman
Editor's note: Later this morning, Joel is joining forces with Landon Swan – co-founder of one of Fast Company's most innovative firms – for an urgent briefing...
Joel and Landon have called some of the biggest AI winners... Nvidia (NVDA) before it soared 10 times, Tesla (TSLA) before it surged 20 times, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) before it climbed nearly 200 times.
And now, Joel and Landon are revealing five under-the-radar stocks that could become the biggest winners of America's AI race. As they detail, these stocks are poised for potential gains of 10 times, 20 times, or even 50 times.
Joel and Landon's broadcast with the full story kicks off at 10 a.m. Eastern time today. Click here to lock in your seat for this free presentation.
