Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to ban imports of Russian uranium. The bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in December, now awaits President Biden’s signature.
- H.R. 1042, Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, bans the import into the United States of low-enriched uranium that is produced in Russia or by Russian entities and has not previously been in a nuclear reactor. Its passage frees up $2.7 billion in previously authorized funding to expand domestic production of nuclear fuel, including the high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, needed for certain advanced nuclear reactor designs.
- H.R. 1042’s passage “marks a significant milestone in catalyzing a robust, domestic commercial uranium fuel supply chain to support current and future nuclear reactors,” Nuclear Innovation Alliance Executive Director Judi Greenwald said in a statement. The previously authorized funding for domestic nuclear fuel production “was contingent upon the enactment of a Russian uranium ban, underscoring the critical role H.R. 1042 plays in advancing nuclear energy innovation efforts,” Greenwald added.
Dive Insight:
H.R. 1042’s passage came as senators unveiled the text of a broader nuclear package included in legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration.
The broader package also includes a ban on federal licenses for reactor fuel imported from or produced by entities controlled by Russia while adding China and China-controlled entities to the import blacklist.
Additional provisions include authorization of a “global nuclear energy assessment” focused on the global climate and foreign policy dimensions of the U.S. civilian nuclear industry; changes to advanced nuclear reactor licensing fees; and a request for a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report on “unique licensing issues or requirements” for advanced nuclear reactors used for “nonelectric” applications, such as industrial process heat.
The $2.7 billion freed up by H.R. 1042’s passage is in line with the “one-time appropriation of $2.1 to $3.5 billion” for domestically produced uranium NIA called for in a report published last June. But additional appropriations may be needed “if market conditions diverge significantly from the expected HALEU production costs or industry HALEU demand,” NIA said in a subsequent report released in December.
HALEU is not yet produced at commercial volumes in the United States, but an Ohio demonstration facility operated by Centrus began enriching “modest” quantities of uranium in October. The facility delivered 20 kg of HALEU to DOE last year, “marking the first production of HALEU in the U.S. in over 70 years,” Nuclear Innovation Alliance Senior Analyst Erik Cothron said.
The Centrus facility’s present capacity of 900 kg/year could grow to 6,000 kg/year within “42 months after securing the necessary funding” and expand more rapidly thereafter, the company said.
Expected growth in onshore uranium enrichment capabilities is already fueling a domestic uranium mining boom. Energy Fuels opened three uranium mines in the Western United States last year and plans to open two more by next year, potentially producing up to 2 million pounds annually.
H.R. 1042, which expires in 2040, allows the U.S. Department of Energy to temporarily waive the ban on Russian uranium imports if it determines that “no alternative viable source of low-enriched uranium is available to sustain the continued operation of a nuclear reactor or a U.S. nuclear energy company [or] importation of the uranium is in the national interest.” Any such waiver must end by Jan. 1, 2028
