“We do not need EU sanctions on Russian enriched uranium” Orano’s managing director Nicolas Maes told Euractiv yesterday, during the inauguration of an extension of the company’s uranium enrichment plant in Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes, in the south-west of France.
However his director of consumer and strategy took a different angle in comments to Reuters the previous Tuesday.
Jacques Peythieu said that a lack of clarity concerning potential European sanctions on Russian uranium was “holding operators back a bit from investing in new enrichment capacities.”
Uranium processing is a capital-intensive business. For example Orano’s new extension required a €1.7 billion euro investment. So companies like Orano want to be sure the demand is there, before they commit to funding new capacity.
European sanctions on Russian uranium would undoubtably cut competition and improve the business case for new investments in European uranium processing capacity. Currently Russia’s Rosatom provides around 30% of the west’s uranium supplies.
Indeed, the new facility was opened in part thanks to a US decision to stop importing Russian uranium from 2028 onwards.
The resulting flow of American orders, combined with demand from Canadian, Finnish, Swedish, South Korean, Japanese and Belgian companies allowed Orano to fill its order book and justify the investment.
Despite this achievement, Orano’s stance on Russian sanctions remains conditional. The company does not need sanctions, only so long as “our customers are committed to the long term” Maes concluded. [PM]
