JRL NEWSWATCH: “The U.S. plan to break Russia’s grip on nuclear fuel” – Financial Times
“Demand for atomic energy is surging but Moscow dominates the world’s supplies of enriched uranium.”
“… Utilities companies have spent two years stockpiling nuclear fuel in case Russian supplies are disrupted. … Washington is undertaking a multibillion-dollar push to rebuild its nuclear supply chain …. More than a fifth of the fuel used by the 93 nuclear reactors in the U.S. is supplied through enrichment contracts with Russian suppliers, mainly Rosatom. The [EU] is even more dependent …. The Biden administration … asked Congress to approve an extra $2.2bn to incentivise U.S.-based companies to boost enrichment and conversion capacity. It has pledged billions … to several SMR developers and … launched a $500mn request for proposals … for … supply uranium enrichment services. These government programmes propose to make the Department of Energy a long-term buyer of last resort ….”