The United Kingdom is following in the footsteps of the United States by committing to ramp up production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU).
The U.K. government announced Monday that it will invest over C$510 million in a new program created to fulfill the nuclear fuel needs of next-generation reactors. It will become the first nation in Western Europe to do so.
The move aims to eliminate reliance on Russia for the commodity, the world’s top producer.
Centrus Energy Corp (NYSE American: LEU) became the first American company to produce it in the past 70 years last October. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency still considers Russia to be the only commercial manufacturer.
The first British production plant is scheduled to be operational in the early 2030s. The country was one of several that recently committed to triple their nuclear capacity at the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai.
“We stood up to Putin on oil and gas and financial markets, we won’t let him hold us to ransom on nuclear fuel,” Claire Coutinho, British energy secretary, said. “We will be the first nation in Europe outside of Russia to produce advanced nuclear fuel.”
HALEU is a type of nuclear fuel with a concentration of uranium-235 that is significantly higher than conventional reactor fuel. A higher concentration of that isotope means that reactors and fuel assemblies can be smaller while generating the same amount of power. Many small modular reactors and advanced prototypes being developed will primarily utilize HALEU.
Published at midnight the UK government has announced a £300m #uranium investment programme into HALEU development with explicit aim of preventing Putin holding the West “to ransom.”https://t.co/D4VTMeGDR8
Anecdotally interesting that uranium has now gravitated from bylines in… pic.twitter.com/hNckL98LYB
— Nick Lawson (@lawse) January 7, 2024
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Britain aims to produce 25 per cent of its electricity with nuclear reactors by 2050
The country will also invest C$17 million in sites nationwide that are producing other types of advanced nuclear fuels.
The U.K. is currently developing the first nuclear reactor to be built in the country since 1988 in Somerset. It is expected to be brought online in 2027.
Kazakhstan, Canada and Namibia are the world’s top uranium-producing countries. The U.K. has no commercial uranium mining operations.
Canada’s Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan and Alberta has been attracting attention in recent days as a reliable source of uranium fuel. It produces the highest-grade uranium on Earth and is still vastly underexplored.
The top three companies in the jurisdiction are Cameco Corporation (TSX: CCO) (NYSE: CCJ), NexGen Energy Ltd. (TSX: NXE) and Uranium Energy Corporation (NYSE American: UEC). The high price of uranium combined with ever-increasing demand for the metal is making those stocks appealing to many investors.
The explorer ATHA Energy Corp. (CSE: SASK) (OTCQB: SASKF) has the largest land package in the Athabasca Basin.
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rowan@mugglehead.com
