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Many countries are reconsidering their reliance on Russian resources, particularly oil and natural gas, as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A new analysis showing Russia's dominance in the nuclear reactor fuel and technology supply chain raises similar worries.
In 2021, of the 439 nuclear reactors in service around the world, 38 were in Russia and 42 were built with Russian technology. Additionally, in 2021, 15 reactors under development used Russian technology.
If a country hasn't built nuclear reactors yet, it can, of course, choose alternate suppliers. If a country already has Russian nuclear reactor models, repair parts and services are likely to be sought from Russia.
In addition, Russia mines around 6% of the raw uranium produced each year. This is an amount that can be replaced if other uranium-mining countries increase their uranium production. Uranium, on the other hand, does not flow directly from a mine to a nuclear reactor. Before it can be utilized as nuclear reactor fuel, it must undergo conversion and enrichment.
Russia is a major player in this arena. In 2018 Russia controlled 46% of the conversion and enrichment capacity, falling slightly to 40% in 2020. As a result, the United States and its allies should concentrate their efforts here, according to the report.
Furthermore, the United States must be prepared for fuel for its next-generation advanced reactors, which require uranium to be enriched to 15% to 19.75% (current reactors use uranium enriched to between 3% and 5%).
Unfortunately, this high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel is now only available on a commercial scale from Russia and adding adequate new conversion and enrichment capability will take years. Furthermore, the US government must commit to not relying on Russian supplies to persuade private enterprises to invest money and resources in uranium infrastructure. The concern is that in a year or two, trade relations with Russia will recover, and Russian uranium products would be permitted back onto domestic markets, undercutting any private investment made.
