British authorities announced a tender to get rid of Russian uranium processing

The British government has announced a competition to find alternatives to Russian nuclear fuel and diversify its production capacities outside of Russia. For this purpose, a £75 million Nuclear Fuel Fund has been set up. With it, it is planned to “provide British nuclear plant operators with more opportunities to use fuel produced in the UK.”

The British authorities hope that this initiative will help stimulate investment “in new and reliable fuel production facilities in the UK.” As specified in press release on the website of the British government, now Russia owns about 20% of the world’s uranium processing capacity and 40% of enrichment.

“This investment package will strengthen the UK’s energy security by providing access to a safe and reliable supply of UK-produced fuel to power the UK’s nuclear fleet, thereby displacing Russian influence while creating more jobs and export opportunities,” said the Undersecretary for Energy. and climate Graham Stewart.

In 2021, the European Union (EU) and the US bought approximately 30 thousand tons of uranium, or 78 million pounds of U3O8 (uranium oxide). Russia last year exported about 5,000 tons of uranium to these countries, or about 70% of its total production in Russia and Kazakhstan. The New York Times informedthat, despite the sanctions, France and several other EU countries are still importing Russian uranium.