In March 2022, following Russia’s incursion into Ukraine, President Biden enacted an executive order prohibiting the U.S. from importing Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal.
Even though this move, combined with EU sanctions, was linked to soaring global energy costs, it had minimal impact on U.S. refineries as Russia only constituted 3% of their crude oil imports.
Yet, many observers promptly highlighted an omission from the embargo: uranium. Historically, the U.S. has had a significant dependence on Russian uranium, sourcing approximately 14% of its uranium and 28% of its enrichment services from Russia in 2021.
In contrast, the European Union’s figures stood at 20% for imports and 26% for enrichment services. The calls to reconsider this dependency grew louder when Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the U.S. and the global community to cease Russian uranium imports after incidents near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya power plant. Annually, U.S. companies channel over $1 billion to Russia’s state-run nuclear agency, Rosatom, and in just the first quarter of 2023, they imported an additional $411.5 million worth of enriched uranium.
Despite the risks, Western nations have hesitated to impose sanctions on Rosatom. Their substantial dependence on Russian uranium is precarious, especially considering most utilities maintain only an 18-month fuel supply. This leaves the nuclear industry vulnerable to disruptions if Russia, under Putin’s leadership, chooses to halt trade.
The global community, including the U.S., is feeling the pinch from depending too much on Russian nuclear fuel,” said Pranay Vaddi, a key nuclear advisor at the National Security Council.
In a hopeful turn, there are plans to expand the domestic uranium enrichment facility that once supplied fuel for America’s pioneering Manhattan Project. The Urenco facility in Eunice, New Mexico, valued at $5 billion, houses massive centrifuges that operate at extraordinary speeds to extract crucial uranium isotopes for nuclear fuel. Catering to around a third of U.S. enriched uranium needs, Urenco is on track to increase its output by 15% to bolster Western nuclear energy capacities.
Karen Fili, CEO of Urenco’s U.S. arm, projects that the facility expansion, set for completion in 2027, combined with their European operations, will suffice to replace Rosatom’s contribution to the American market. “Our increased output from Urenco can fill any vacuum left by reduced Russian imports,” Fili stated.
However, the Kremlin has scoffed at these efforts, equating them to “creating a Frankenstein.” They argue that Europe’s past attempts to create a unified supply chain for enriched uranium have always fallen short. But their skepticism might underestimate the West’s determination to lessen their energy dependence on Russia, evident in Europe’s current ample gas reserves, despite Putin’s predictions of a winter gas shortage.
Alternatives to Uranium
The Biden administration is keen on exploring uranium substitutes.
Considering the target to achieve 100% carbon-neutral energy by 2035, nuclear energy remains pivotal, even though it’s contentious due to the hazardous waste from traditional nuclear fuel. A game-changer for nuclear power would be the successful replacement of uranium with thorium in reactors, which could assuage public concerns related to uranium’s dangers.
Touted as the ‘green future’ of energy, thorium produces less waste, offers more energy than uranium, is meltdown-resistant, doesn’t generate weapons-grade by-products, and can even consume existing plutonium reserves.
The U.S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Engineering & Science Center at Texas A&M, and the Idaho National Laboratory have teamed up with Clean Core Thorium Energy (CCTE) from Chicago to innovate a thorium-based nuclear fuel named ANEEL. This blend of thorium and “High Assay Low Enriched Uranium” (HALEU) is designed to combat the issues of expense and toxic waste (thorium requires a minimal amount of another fissile material). Notably, ANEEL differs from currently-used uranium in its enrichment levels. While current reactors utilize up to 5% uranium-235 enrichment, newer models demand fuel enriched up to 20%. CCTE began adapting existing reactor designs for ANEEL usage a few years back, expecting its commercial application as soon as 2024. Additionally, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted Centrus Energy permission to produce HALEU in Piketon, Ohio, marking it as the nation’s sole producer. Yet, more might join if ANEEL proves successful.
ANEEL is versatile, suitable for heavy water reactors and traditional ones, and can be deployed faster than uranium reactors. It boasts a superior fuel burn-up rate, allowing longer operational periods between refuelling – with India’s Kaiga Unit-1 and Canada’s Darlington PHWR Unit setting records of 962 and 963 uninterrupted days, respectively.
The adoption of thorium-based fuel also presents multiple advantages, including a significant reduction in plutonium waste. Notably, plutonium’s half-life is substantially shorter than Uranium-235’s, and its toxicity is severe. Thorium also operates at cooler temperatures and has a higher melting threshold than natural uranium, enhancing its safety profile and reducing meltdown risks.
Thorium boasts remarkable renewable energy characteristics.
Furthermore, the earth’s crust contains over twice the amount of thorium as uranium. In India, thorium’s abundance surpasses uranium by four times. Similar to uranium, thorium can be sourced from seawater, rendering its supply nearly endless.
Earlier in February, the Chicago-based company, Clean Core Thorium Energy, in collaboration with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), initiated the pre-licensing review planning stage for Clean Core’s ANEEL thorium and HALEU, indicating forward movement.
