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Nuclear fuel supply shift must cut dependence on Russia, says US energy official

New U.S. funding to enhance domestic nuclear fuel production is a historical action however the world's nuclear customers must also move supply chains to meet the objective of loosening Russia's grip on the industry, a U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) authorities said.

At the police 28 climate conference, the United States along with Japan, France, Canada and the UK committed to raising $4.2. billion in federal government funding for nuclear power.

Kathryn Huff, assistant secretary on nuclear at the DoE,. informed at a nuclear summit in Brussels that the nations. jointly tried to recognize the amount of investment required from. federal governments to support the fuel supply chain.

The $2.7 billion is the U.S. part of that. contribution ... It's a historic action in the fuel supply chain but. obviously we see a chance to go even more, she said.

President Joe Biden signed a bill authorizing the $2.7 billion. in U.S. funding for domestic fuel production this month.

The financed programmes consist of uranium fuel enrichment such. as high assay low enriched, or HALEU, uranium fuel, which is. expected to be used in high tech nuclear plants. These new. reactors can be much smaller sized with longer operating cycles.

Huff included that the success of moving supply chains would. Hinge on other nations moving to these trusted sources. rather than sources that could utilize supply versus them,. like Russia.

Russian state-owned energy company Rosatom states it supplies. 17% of the world's nuclear fuel. The U.S., the biggest manufacturer. of atomic energy, relies on Russia for 20% of its enriched. uranium, although that is restricted by an import cap that. pre-dates Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

( It's) a reliance we urgently require to divest ourselves. from, Huff said. We are taking a look at a way to begin import. restrictions from Russia.

The U.S. has more than 90 functional nuclear reactors many. of which are reaching completion of their 40-year life-spans. Just. 6 so far have been approved to extend operations to 80 years.

A pilot program in Ohio effectively produced HALEU and a. request for proposals was introduced in January. Today's nuclear. plants typically rely on uranium enriched to 5% purity.

Congress is likewise poised to cut imports of Russian uranium,. as part of Washington's response to Moscow's complete scale intrusion. of Ukraine. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm stated this. week that a restriction would maximize funding to develop the domestic. nuclear fuel market.

(source: Reuters)