JRL NEWSWATCH: “Why the U.S. and Europe Still Buy Russian Nuclear Fuel” – Bloomberg
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“… Kremlin-controlled Rosatom … continues to be the dominant source of fuel for the world’s nuclear power stations — supplying about half of global demand …. Western nations are racing to reconstitute their own processing capacity …. [U]ranium ore needs … a vast industrial process …. Rosatom is … in every part of the supply chain, from ore extraction to fuel enrichment and delivery …. Former Soviet satellites … [are still] operating dozens of … [aging, Cold War-era] VVER pressurized water reactors …. [mostly] us[ing] Rosatom fuel … running on borrowed time …. [U.S.-Russian] [a]tomic trade … grew … under the [post-Cold War] … Megatons to Megawatts program, … convert[ing] … Russian weapons-grade uranium into fuel … for U.S. reactors …. Perceived economic vulnerability on both sides of the Atlantic is prompting unprecedented cooperation … rebooting the nuclear fuel cycle. The U.S. and Canada in March pledged to jointly rebuild North American capacity. ….”
Meanwhile, following Russia’s wholesale invasion of Ukraine, Rosatom increased exports by more than a fifth within a year, while signing new deals in emerging markets.