nuclear-news

Western, Russian nuclear industries still intertwined, report says

By Reuters, September 19, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/western-russian-nuclear-industries-still-intertwined-report-says-2024-09-19/

VIENNA, – The Russian and Western nuclear industries remain dependent on each other, a situation that has shielded Russia from European sanctions, an industry report said on Thursday.

Cutting the West’s dependence would likely drive up costs, the annual World Nuclear Industry Status Report said.

Since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, some of the five European Union countries with Russia-designed VVER reactors, which use Russian fuel, have sought alternative fuel sources, particularly U.S. company Westinghouse Electric.

Several of those countries, however, stockpiled Russian fuel last year, driving up imports.

Some Western companies rely heavily on Russian state company Rosatom’s construction of new reactors abroad to sell their parts, the report said.

“Interdependence between Russia and its Western partners remains significant,” the report said.

“With Rosatom implementing all 13 nuclear-power reactor construction sites started outside China over the past five years, providers of parts, e.g. France’s Arabelle turbines, do not have any other foreign customer besides Rosatom,” it said, referring to a unit of French state power utility EDF.

September 23, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, politics international