Full Title: Developing Domestic HALEU Supply Spells Freedom from Russian Dependency
Author(s): Alan Ahn, Josh Freed, Ryan Norman
Publisher(s): Third Way
Publication Date: April 6, 2022
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Russia is currently the world’s only viable commercial supplier of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), the necessary fuel for many advanced nuclear power reactors rapidly emerging in the United States and the rest of the world. Russia’s global monopoly on HALEU has been a serious concern for years, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the acute political risks and moral objections of relying on Russian HALEU supply.
Developing a domestic capacity to produce HALEU fuel would provide the US independence from Russian HALEU supply and enable the domestic fuel sector to compete globally in a fast-emerging area of the energy economy as a more reliable alternative to Russia. It would also help re-establish American global leadership in nuclear energy, helping us meet our climate, clean energy, national security, and economic goals.