In brief:
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U.S. nuclear energy faces fuel supply chain vulnerabilities, with tight uranium supplies, geopolitical risks, and rising costs threatening both existing reactors costs and advanced reactor development.
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The uranium conversion stage represents a major bottleneck, with only five large-scale facilities worldwide, shrinking stockpiles, and companies hesitant to expand capacity without long-term contracts that buyers are reluctant to sign at current high prices.
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Next-generation reactors will require significantly more mined uranium per ton of fuel, potentially tightening supplies for the existing nuclear fleet, which is already facing high fuel costs.
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Only five facilities worldwide convert mined uranium on a large scale into the gas needed for enrichment. This step may pose one of the most critical pinch-points in the supply chain.
Enrichment, the third stage of the nuclear fuel supply chain, remains heavily concentrated: Nearly half of global capacity is in Russia, with only two major commercial enrichers operating in the United States and western Europe. This poses a strategic challenge for the United States, which relies on Russia for nearly 30% of its enriched uranium supply. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Congress passed legislation in 2024 to ban enriched uranium imports from Russia. Several European countries are also working to reduce their dependence on Russian fuel.
Read the article to find out about the problems next-generation reactors are going to have in this area.