Congress obliges US to source nuclear fuel domestically rather than from Russia

The United States will be obliged to buy domestic fuel for nuclear reactors in accordance with the provisions of a bill passed by Congress.

Source: European Pravda, citing Bloomberg

Details: The bill, approved earlier this week by the Senate, passed the House of Representatives on Thursday. President Joe Biden must now sign it.

The nuclear fuel provision is part of a broader plan to restore the US domestic uranium supply chain and gradually reduce dependence on the Russian Federation, America's largest foreign supplier of uranium.

It would require the Department of Energy to buy at least 20 tonnes a year of reactor fuel, known as HALEU, from US companies until the end of 2027.

However, billions of dollars of funding for the effort stalled in the Senate after Republicans blocked a bill to help Ukraine that would have provided the money.

At the same time, a law passed by the House of Representatives which prohibits all imports of Russian uranium after 2028 is under consideration in the Senate.

Background:

• Earlier, it was reported that the European Union imported more Russian nuclear fuel and services for Russian reactors in 2023 than it did in 2021, i.e. before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• Prior to that, it became known that Slovakia plans to switch from Russian nuclear fuel to American and French fuel, despite previous criticism from pro-Russian nationalists from the ruling Slovak National Party.
• The US has also said that dependence on Russian nuclear fuel poses a critical threat to national security and climate goals.

Correction: The headline and content of this news report have been corrected due to a clarification. We apologise to our readers.

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