Exclusive: EU nuclear agency sees some Russia imports up again in 2023 from before Ukraine war

In 2023, the European Union boosted its imports of nuclear fuel and services from Russia for the bloc’s Russian-designed reactors. This was compared to 2021, the year before Moscow invaded Ukraine, according to the Euratom Supply Agency (ESA).

The European Union is trying to lessen its reliance on Moscow even though such imports are not subject to sanctions. The entire amount of its imports from Russia’s nuclear energy sector remained unchanged the previous year, even though there was an increase in demand for nuclear power due to rising energy prices and an effort to reduce carbon emissions.

In an interview with Reuters, the acting president of the European Space Agency (ESA) stated that five EU nations that run so-called VVER reactors were set to surpass 2021 import levels this year again, following a jump in 2022.

To achieve its long-term aim of achieving VVER fuel self-sufficiency, the European Union (EU) faces several problems related to this trend.

“Imports by countries operating Russia-designed VVER reactors increased in 2022 compared to 2021, and it is likely that they will have increased in 2023 compared to the year before the Russian invasion,” Stefano Ciccarello stated in statements that were authorized for distribution on Friday.

According to the European Space Agency’s annual report, published in October, the five nations of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, and Slovakia purchased twenty-two percent more enrichment and thirty percent more conversion services from Russia in the previous year.

“These utilities are constructing additional fuel supply inventories,” the statement reads. It is quite probable that more advance purchases will, in the short term, lead to an increase in the amount of material traveling from Russia to VVER utilities compared to the year 2021, he stated.

Ciccarello did not provide any exact statistics and stated that it was too early to answer whether imports in 2023 would be more significant than they were in the previous year.

According to the European Safety Agency (ESA), only Hungary, out of the five EU nations that have been entirely dependent on Russian supply up to this point, has not yet signed contracts for alternative fuel. A request for comment made on Friday was not met with a response from the Hungarian administration.

Using the new fuel is a multi-year effort that requires regulatory clearances, according to Fortum (FORTUM.HE), a Finnish company. Fortum stated that its collaboration with Westinghouse, a company based in the United States, was proceeding successfully.

FOR A LONG TIME
As a result of utilities’ diverse policies, the European Union’s imports of natural uranium and related services from Russia were unchanged year-on-year in 2022, according to the European Securities Authority (ESA).

“Those that are not reliant on Russia are trying to further reduce any such dependence,” according to Ciccarello.

“On the other hand, there are those fully dependent on Russian fuel who are increasing fuel stocks as contingency for any break in supplies before alternative fuel is licensed.”

France uses over a third of its energy requirements through power, which accounts for nearly 10% of the total energy consumption in the European Union. Sweden and Belgium are also significant producers.

ESA reported that the European Union’s imports of natural uranium from Russia decreased by 16% in 2021 compared to the previous year. An increase in supplies from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan accounted for this decrease.

According to the European Commission, the value of the European Union’s imports of Russian nuclear energy in 2022 was around 750 million euros ($823 million), which represented one percent of the bloc’s total imports of Russian gas.

A proposal by the Commission for the 12th package of economic sanctions against Russia is now being discussed by the members of the European Union (EU) as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, according to several sources, the plan is not currently available to the public and does not include any restrictions against Russia’s nuclear energy industry.

All 27 countries of the European Union must reach a unanimous decision to impose sanctions. Hungary, the country in which Russia’s state-owned monopoly Rosatom has a contract to extend the Paks nuclear facility, is unwilling to meet this need in the case of Russia’s nuclear energy activities.

In addition to Europe, Russia was the third-largest supplier of uranium to the United States of America in the previous year. The United States is the country with the most reactors in the world. In the United States Congress, there is legislation that has been presented to prohibit the use of uranium by Russia.

According to Ciccarello, the Western region must increase its present conversion and enrichment by twenty to thirty percent to compensate for high-risk supplies. According to him, the upgrades anticipated to go online at the end of this decade would not be sufficient to meet the demand in the Western region.

Ciccarello stated that this is a significant investment that will be made over several decades. “For further investments, the industry seeks some form of guaranteed market.”