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> so Europe's dependence on Russia is even stronger for Uranium than for gas I’d argue that it’s not about % coming from Russia that reflects dependence, it’s

> so Europe's dependence on Russia is even stronger for Uranium than for gas I’d argue that it’s not about % coming from Russia that reflects dependence, it’s how easy you could switch to another supplier. How difficult would it be to find a different provider for that Uranium?

cycomanic 4y ago
However nobody talks about blocking Russian Uranium imports, while oil and gas is all over the news. Admittedly the values we are talking about are much lower, but if it's easy to switch suppliers it should be a nobrainer, no?
- belorn 4y ago
  I am unsure what news you are reading but when the war started there was news about switching Uranium imports away from Russia here in Sweden. I would hope that has now occurred, through as mentioned in the article, nuclear refueling occurs once every 12-18 months so who knows if that has yet to become a practical matter. The company that seems to produce most of the fuel that Sweden use is called Westinghouse Electric Company, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, and about 20% of the raw uranium that they processed before the war came from Russian. The biggest exporter of Uranium to Europe is Niger. We also have Kazakstan, Canada, Australia, and then a bunch of smaller ones. Being close geographical isn't a major benefit for Uranium imports. Blocking Russian Uranium imports should already been done, and if its not, should be made into policy. Since it only is a small portion of the overall imports the effect should be very minor. I would expect that the American company, by the fact of being American, are already required to follow sanctions related to Russia.
- jhgb 4y ago
  What makes you think nobody talks about that? I know that this has been a topic in my country (which operates six VVER reactors). We've definitely been talking about this. > but if it's easy to switch suppliers it should be a nobrainer, no? Unfortunately it's not that easy since Russians control over 40% of fuel production capacity, and additionally Western manufacturers need to learn to manufacture Russian fuel assemblies and test them and certify them for safe operation first, so even if Western production capacity were sufficient, there would probably still be some delay in the switch.

cycomanic 4y ago

However nobody talks about blocking Russian Uranium imports, while oil and gas is all over the news. Admittedly the values we are talking about are much lower, but if it's easy to switch suppliers it should be a nobrainer, no?

belorn 4y ago
I am unsure what news you are reading but when the war started there was news about switching Uranium imports away from Russia here in Sweden. I would hope that has now occurred, through as mentioned in the article, nuclear refueling occurs once every 12-18 months so who knows if that has yet to become a practical matter. The company that seems to produce most of the fuel that Sweden use is called Westinghouse Electric Company, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, and about 20% of the raw uranium that they processed before the war came from Russian. The biggest exporter of Uranium to Europe is Niger. We also have Kazakstan, Canada, Australia, and then a bunch of smaller ones. Being close geographical isn't a major benefit for Uranium imports. Blocking Russian Uranium imports should already been done, and if its not, should be made into policy. Since it only is a small portion of the overall imports the effect should be very minor. I would expect that the American company, by the fact of being American, are already required to follow sanctions related to Russia.
jhgb 4y ago
What makes you think nobody talks about that? I know that this has been a topic in my country (which operates six VVER reactors). We've definitely been talking about this. > but if it's easy to switch suppliers it should be a nobrainer, no? Unfortunately it's not that easy since Russians control over 40% of fuel production capacity, and additionally Western manufacturers need to learn to manufacture Russian fuel assemblies and test them and certify them for safe operation first, so even if Western production capacity were sufficient, there would probably still be some delay in the switch.