In a strategic transfer to jumpstart home uranium enrichment capability within the U.S., the Division of Vitality (DOE) has launched a request for proposals (RFP) to purchase low-enriched uranium (LEU) from home suppliers.
The RFP will search LEU by procurement contracts for indefinite amount and indefinite supply (IDIQ). It might end in awards of “two or extra contracts, which is able to final for as much as 10 years,” the DOE stated on June 27. Proposals are due on Aug. 26, 2024. After awarding contracts, the company intends to promote the LEU to utilities working U.S. reactors “to assist clear power technology and sever reliance on Russian imports.”
In response to the company paperwork related to the RFP, all LEU acquired by the contracts should be enriched and saved inside the continental U.S. Contracts involving enrichment for industrial use should come from new U.S. capability—together with “new enrichment amenities or initiatives that increase the capability of current enrichment amenities,” the DOE stated. The DOE additionally specified that it prefers LEU sourced from current permitted U.S. mining and milling, in addition to new conversion amenities. Nonetheless, as a “subsequent choice,” it can contemplate LEU sourced from newly permitted mining and milling amenities, current conversion capability, or from “allied or accomplice” nations.
A Important Bid to Break Reliance on Russian Uranium
The solicitation is a marked effort by the U.S. govt department to make sure a steady provide of LEU amid potential disruptions within the nuclear gas market. The RFP notably follows President Biden’s Might 13 enactment of a Congressional ban—by unanimous consent—on imports of unirradiated LEU produced in Russia. The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act (H.R. 1042), which the Home of Representatives additionally handed by unanimous consent, takes impact on Aug. 11, 2024, and applies to not less than 2040. As POWER has reported, Congress additionally handed the ADVANCE Act on June 18, which expands the definition of “lined gas” to incorporate gas assemblies fabricated by Chinese language state-owned entities.
LEU, within the legislative context, covers uranium merchandise in any kind, together with uranium hexafluoride (UF6) and uranium oxide (UO2), wherein uranium accommodates lower than 20% uranium-235 (U-235). For related context, the present fleet of U.S. nuclear reactors requires LEU enriched to not more than 5% weight % of U-235. Below H.R. 1042, distinct annual ceilings are established to import unirradiated LEU produced in Russia or by a Russian entity, together with these related to separative work models (SWUs). Particularly, the import ceiling (representing the load of the uranium content material, no matter its chemical types) for 2024 is ready at 476,536 kilograms, progressively reducing to 459,083 kilograms by 2027.
The Vitality Info Administration (EIA), in its June 11–launched annual uranium advertising replace, suggests U.S. utilities bought a complete of 51.6 million kilos of U3O8e (equal) of deliveries from U.S. and international suppliers throughout 2023. Canada led foreign-origin sources (at 27% of whole deliveries), adopted by Australia and Kazakhstan (22% every). Russian-origin deliveries accounted for 12%, whereas U.S. materials hovered at 5% of whole deliveries. Nonetheless, U.S. utilities bought an estimated 4.1 million Russian-origin separative work models (SWU) in 2023—representing 27% of U.S. enriched uranium provide. U.S. enrichment vegetation offered 28%, whereas Western European vegetation offered 45%.
Guaranteeing an Sufficient Gas Provide From Trusted Sources
In response to the DOE, the RFP would be the first essential measure to fortify home nuclear gas provide chains. The “motion will assist spur the secure and accountable build-out of uranium enrichment capability within the U.S., promote variety available in the market, and supply a dependable provide of business nuclear gas to assist the power safety and resilience of the American folks and home industries, free from Russian affect,” it stated. “Growing home capability for LEU ensures an enough gas provide is on the market from trusted sources to keep up the present fleet of U.S. reactors and construct a powerful base to produce future deployments of cutting-edge nuclear applied sciences each at dwelling and overseas.”
The company famous that the RFP will leverage $2.7 billion unlocked by H.R. 1042. As directed within the FY2024 spending invoice, that funding is devoted to creating LEU and high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), a nuclear gas materials enriched to the next diploma (between 5% and 20%) than many superior nuclear applied sciences would require.
On the finish of 2023 and earlier this yr, the company issued separate RFPs for the acquisition of enriched and deconverted HALEU. In March, it stated it expects to award contracts for HALEU enrichment and deconversion providers “later this summer season to assist spur demand for extra HALEU manufacturing and personal funding.”
In tandem, the U.S. has moved to pursue worldwide collaborations to spice up its international nuclear provide chain. In December 2023, at COP28, it joined with Canada, France, Japan, and the UK to mobilize $4.2 billion to spice up enriched uranium manufacturing capability “free from Russian materials and set up a resilient uranium provide market free from Russian affect.”
Nonetheless, as POWER has reported, whereas nuclear gas suppliers seem desirous to increase their manufacturing capabilities, many underscore the necessity to underwrite the numerous capital funding with long-term contracts. To date, London-based Urenco has stated it could add a number of new centrifuges at its UUSA facility in Eunice, New Mexico (which is operated by Louisiana Vitality Providers). French nuclear gas big Orano can also be reportedly mulling plans to construct a uranium enrichment facility within the U.S.
Nonetheless, for now, present U.S. enrichment capability can solely meet a third of home wants, as suppose tank Third Method notes. “Past the western enrichers Urenco’s and Orano’s introduced capability expansions, extra federal assist is important to beat this enrichment bottleneck,” Rowen Worth, Third Method coverage advisor for Nuclear Vitality, wrote in a current word.
Worth has referred to as for a cohesive and collaborative strategy involving a number of authorities businesses to boost the safety of the home nuclear gas provide. “Many federal businesses work on nuclear power improvement and deployment, together with: the Departments of Vitality (DOE), State, and Commerce; the Nationwide Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA); Nuclear Regulatory Fee; and White Home places of work and Nationwide Safety Council,” she famous.
Whereas the “DOE is performing shortly to implement the Russian uranium ban and set up ample LEU stockpiles for the transition to a Western-controlled provide chain,” the inflexible statutory deadlines in place to finish reliance on Russian gas “restrict schedule flexibility for implementing federal applications” Worth wrote. Early collaboration with the NNSA, the State Division, and different businesses might assist inform a technique that “views home gas availability as a part of a broader gas ecosystem amongst allies, and bolster DOE’s capability to reply shortly to gas infrastructure calls for,” she added.
A lot Extra Work Stays to Develop the Nuclear Gas Provide Chain
The DOE acknowledges this to some extent. In its March 2023–launched Pathways to Business Liftoff: Superior Nuclear report, the company posited that U.S. home nuclear capability can scale from about 100 GW in 2023 to 300 GW by 2050. Supporting 200 GW of recent nuclear by 2050, nonetheless, would require an enormous build-out of the gas provide chain capability on a scale of between 200% to 300%, it notes.
For instance, to assist a further 200 GW, the U.S. would wish to increase its mining and milling operations by an extra 50,000 million tons (MT) per yr—rising 22 instances its peak, the report says. U.S. conversion wants would in the meantime require a further 65,000 MT—on the dimensions of 4 extra working amenities if sized like Converdyn Metropolis Works, the nation’s sole conversion facility (which has the capability to provide 15,000 MT per yr of uranium within the type of UF6).
On the identical time, it could want to extend its enrichment functionality by an estimated 30 million SWU per yr (six instances increased than present capability) “or about 40 million SWU per yr to be power impartial,” the report says. Lastly, the present U.S. nuclear fuel-fabrication capability is about 4,200 MT per yr throughout Westinghouse, Framatome, and International Nuclear Gas-Americas. “This capability serves to supply gas to the present U.S. fleet whereas additionally offering gas for worldwide nuclear energy vegetation. It’s projected that a further ~5,000 MT annual capability of gas fabrication can be required to assist a further 200 GW of recent nuclear capability on the grid.”
The report suggests a spread of potential options. To bridge LEU enrichment capability gaps, it suggests public sector incentives, together with off-take agreements, monetary help, or low-cost loans to current and new entrants into the market. “Within the long-term, as demand is projected to develop, there will not be a necessity for any authorities intervention, because the short-term funding might clear the hurdle charge for return on invested capital,” it says.
That strategy may be priceless to jumpstart HALEU provide aligned with projected HALEU demand, the report suggests. To construct out enough gas fabrication capability, it signifies that “authorities and business ought to comply with deployment timelines and decide when it makes monetary sense to both increase capability or assemble new fuel-fabrication amenities.” In the meantime, loans may be priceless to assist the enlargement of current fuel-fabrication amenities or to convey new gas amenities on-line. Nonetheless, the business might have a bigger position to play if it stimulates market demand by signing agreements with gas producers, it says.
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).
