Nuclear industry executives see benefits as Middle East war sparks energy security concerns

Global nuclear power industry executives said they see expansion opportunities as energy security concerns grow as a result of the war in the Middle East between Israel, the United States, and Iran.

"This is an energy crisis, it has been described as the worst energy crisis in history and energy markets all over the world are feeling its effects. We are seeing a return to pragmatism and so to nuclear power," Sama Bilbao y Leon, the director general of the World Nuclear Association, said in a speech to the World Nuclear Fuel Cycle conference in Monaco on April 15. The event is organized by the WNA and the Nuclear Energy Institute.

However, Bilbao y Leon emphasized that while enthusiasm for nuclear power had been growing strongly even before the war in the Middle East started earlier this year, "a lot of that is only ambition, not yet progress. We need to transition ambition to progress. In the nuclear fuel cycle, we know how to transition ambition to progress."

Lionel Gaiffe, a senior executive vice president at French nuclear fuel cycle company Framatome, said in his speech to the conference the same day that the war in the Middle East, as well as other energy security and energy transition issues, meant that it was a "good time for Europe to rediscover nuclear energy and the merit of existing reactors. There is real merit to existing reactors in providing stable electricity and stability of the grid."

Gaiffe added that it is "important to have a reliable fuel supply chain; sovereignty matters as was demonstrated during the pandemic. We can fabricate locally."

Emmanuel Brutin, the director general of industry trade association NuclearEurope, added in his remarks to the conference that the "crisis in the Middle East underlines how resilient we must be. In Europe we have a fully sovereign supply chain but it starts with doing investment."

"We have fuel enrichment champions in Europe," Brutin added, without naming any specific companies. Following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, European Union institutions led by the European Commission, as well as many individual EU countries, launched a series of efforts to reduce reliance on Russian uranium, uranium enrichment and conversion services and fuel fabrication. These efforts included encouraging diversification of nuclear fuel supply for Russian-designed reactors that had been previously exclusively supplied by TVEL, the fuel subsidiary of Russian state-owned nuclear company Rosatom.

Brutin also said that there was a "need for concrete policies in Europe to realize investments" in new nuclear plant construction, as well as across the nuclear fuel cycle.

He noted that there had recently been a more positive attitude about nuclear power inside EU institutions and EU member states. However, "we would like to see things go a bit faster with the EU institutions" with respect to investment in the industry and facilitation of the policy environment for nuclear power's development, Brutin added.

Cameco sees advantages

Tim Shirkey, vice president, marketing, at Canadian uranium mining company Cameco said in remarks during a uranium supply panel at the event that "geopolitics and the war have all led to concerns about energy security that have led to price increases across the nuclear fuel cycle."

Prices of uranium conversion and enrichment spiked following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 given Russian state-owned companies' role as a significant producer of nuclear fuel services. North American and European customers have sought to reduce their reliance on Russia and expand capacity in the West.

There is a "very distinctive advantage for Cameco coming from a trusted jurisdiction in Canada," Shirkey added.

"Growing consumer electricity demand and energy security provide durable price growth for nuclear power" and uranium prices, Shirkey also said.