UK invests $90 million in nuclear fuel production

The UK authorities will allocate 75 million pounds (about $90 million) to support the production of nuclear fuel in the country in order to reduce dependence on Russian supplies and strengthen the UK’s energy security. This was announced in a press release on site British government.

Energy Minister Graham Stewart has announced the creation of a £75m Nuclear Fuel Fund. The authorities of the Kingdom, as noted in the message, want to give British operators of nuclear power plants more opportunities to use fuel produced in the UK. Investments should ensure the production of up to 24 GW of nuclear energy by 2050.

“The UK government is committed to fulfilling the G7 commitment to diversify uranium and nuclear fuel production capacities outside of Russia,” the government said.

The funds are invested in the development of new conversion facilities for both freshly mined and processed uranium. Record gas prices have “highlighted the need” for more domestic renewables, as well as building power plants and developing domestic fuel capacity, Stewart said. According to him, the production of its own fuel will be used by the British nuclear fleet, there will be more jobs and export opportunities.

The government has announced that £50m will be directed towards projects to create new domestic fuel capacities, the authorities have announced a call for applications.

In June, the G7 leaders agreed to work on diversifying their uranium supply and nuclear fuel production capacity. Russia now accounts for about 20% of the world’s uranium processing capacity and 40% of enrichment capacity, the statement said.

In August the British Foreign Office declaredthat the G7 countries are going to reduce their dependence on civilian nuclear products supplied from Russia. “We will continue to reduce our dependence on civil nuclear power and related products from Russia and provide assistance to countries seeking to diversify their supplies,” the statement said.

The ministry also said that the G7 countries will continue to coordinate their actions and support each other to ensure collective energy security and sustainability.