It was a great day to have ASX uranium shares in your portfolio.

The uranium industry was the standout performer on Monday, with strong gains being recorded across the board.

Let's take a quick look at how a number of uranium miners and developers performed during the session:

• Bannerman Energy Ltd (ASX: BMN) shares rose 12% to $2.67.
• Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) shares rose 8% to $2.90.
• Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) shares rose 5% to $1.23.
• Lotus Resources Ltd (ASX: LOT) shares rose 4% to 24 cents.
• Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) shares rose 5% to $9.86.
• Peninsula Energy Ltd (ASX: PEN) shares rose 6% to 9 cents.

Why were ASX uranium shares surging?

Investors were scrambling to buy uranium shares in response to news that tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is turning to nuclear power to fuel its artificial intelligence (AI) aspirations.

On Friday, Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG) announced that it has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft. This will pave the way for the launch of the Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC) and the restart of Three Mile Island Unit 1. The latter operated at industry-leading levels of safety and reliability for decades before being shut down for economic reasons five years ago. The CCEC is expected to be online in 2028.

According to the release, under the agreement, Microsoft will purchase energy from the renewed plant as part of its goal to help match the power its data centres in PJM use with carbon-free energy.

This could be big news for ASX uranium shares. A number of tech giants have been criticised for how much power their data centres are consuming to support AI. So, if others follow Microsoft's lead, it could spark a surge in demand for uranium and boost prices.

Constellation Energy's president and CEO, Joe Dominguez, commented:

Powering industries critical to our nation's global economic and technological competitiveness, including data centers, requires an abundance of energy that is carbon-free and reliable every hour of every day, and nuclear plants are the only energy sources that can consistently deliver on that promise.

Before it was prematurely shuttered due to poor economics, this plant was among the safest and most reliable nuclear plants on the grid, and we look forward to bringing it back with a new name and a renewed mission to serve as an economic engine for Pennsylvania.

Microsoft's VP of Energy, Bobby Hollis, adds:

This agreement is a major milestone in Microsoft's efforts to help decarbonize the grid in support of our commitment to become carbon negative. Microsoft continues to collaborate with energy providers to develop carbon-free energy sources to help meet the grids' capacity and reliability needs.

Constellation Energy's shares rocketed 22% on the Nasdaq on Friday evening because of the news.