UK pioneers the production of advanced nuclear fuel challenging Russia’s monopoly in the market. Their innovation promises to power not only domestic nuclear plants but also offers a sustainable solution for global energy demands.
This is part of the government plan to push Putin out of the global energy market and drive down energy bills, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said in a press release.
The UK government is awarding £196 million pounds to Urenco to build a uranium enrichment facility, which will be Europe’s first facility to power future nuclear reactors. It will help to isolate Russia from global energy markets, boost British energy security and provide reliable, affordable energy, it added.
The nuclear power plant is expected to produce fuel by 2031 that would be ready to export or use domestically, and could power UK homes in the next decade. It will put an end to Russia’s monopoly in this energy sector and ensure other countries are not reliant on Russian exports.
Currently, Russia is the only commercial producer of high-assay low enriched uranium, or HALEU. HALEU is needed to power most advanced modular reactors which are crucial to meeting the UK’s ambition to quadruple nuclear capacity by 2050.
Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said, “Building our own uranium enrichment plant is essential if we want to prise Putin’s blood-soaked hands off Europe’s energy market. Russia has been the sole provider of this powerful nuclear fuel for too long and this marks the latest step in pushing him out of the energy market entirely”.
