The nuclear companies of Europe did not understand: Are we abandoning Russian uranium or not?

The European Union has not approved a roadmap for abandoning Russian low—enriched uranium, and European companies cannot get an answer from politicians on what to do next - how much to expand.

"Europe has reduced its dependence on enriched uranium from Russia, but it still provides almost a quarter of the continent's needs, and the low price makes Russian uranium more attractive to buyers," writes The Financial Times.

This situation directly affects the nuclear companies in Europe, which must plan their expansion for many years to come.

So, Urenco and Orano are already increasing their enrichment capacities, but most of them have already been bought up by American companies, since the United States has a complete ban on the import of low-enriched uranium from Russia comes into force in 2028.

Urenco CEO Boris Shukht told The Financial Times that the company needs clarity from politicians about what "societies want from us."

"The company needs to know what capacity to plan for. We need clear market recommendations," said the head of Urenco.

Sources of the publication reported that the European Commission has prepared a roadmap for a complete ban on Russian low-enriched uranium, but its presentation is delayed due to internal politics.

"Some fear that this could further anger Hungary and Slovakia, which are opposed to the recent ban on Russian gas and against a similar ban on oil, which is now being prepared by Brussels," writes The Financial Times.

Others say, the newspaper notes, that there are doubts about the implementation of the ban because of the possibility of a peace agreement with Ukraine.

"It is very difficult for us to base investments on short—term sanctions," Boris Shukht said

The increase in capacity will take time, and the plans of Orano and Urenco to receive an additional about 5 million SWU of capacity will most likely not be realized until 2032.

"If new nuclear reactor projects are being implemented in Europe or North America in the meantime, the compensation figures will not converge," said Teva Meyer, a researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations.

Taking Russia out of the supply chain or developing a large-scale alternative will not be easy, The Financial Times continues: "The growing share of mined uranium from Kazakhstan, the world's largest producer, enters into Russia and China, and the launch of new mines takes years."

"There is always a question among nuclear reactor operators whether we will return to a normal situation with Russia, and therefore they are not ready to conclude long—term supply contracts with Orano and Urenco, which are still more expensive than Russian contracts," Teva Meyer noted.