CPC - Caspian Policy Center

Research

kazakh uranium: a hot prospect as u.s. targets russian nuclear fuel

Kazakh Uranium: A Hot Prospect as U.S. Targets Russian Nuclear Fuel

Author: Charley Ward

05/11/2024

In an era of great power competition, climate goals are increasingly at odds with geopolitical interests. As the United States aims for a nuclear power renaissance, it threatens to ban nuclear fuel imports from Russia, the world’s foremost supplier. The belated realization that the United States is funding Putin’s war effort to the tune of $1 billion a year in enriched uranium sales could hinder U.S. efforts to triple its nuclear energy capacity by 2050, a goal set at the U.N.’s Conference of the Parties in December (COP28). As restrictions on imports of Russian nuclear fuel were passed by both houses of the U.S. Congress, Washington risks a self-inflicted wound. U.S. policymakers have yet to secure access to sufficient alternative sources of enriched uranium. While initiatives to expand domestic enrichment capacity are underway, they will take years to come online.

 

READ REPORT


Related Articles

The Minerals that Make our Military: Strategic Opportunities in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Ukraine

This is the third installment in the Caspian Policy Center’s Strategic Minerals series ...

Green Energy Minerals: Strategic Opportunities in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Ukraine