Why The US needs Russian Uranium

The US relies on Russia for 14 percent of its enriched uranium for nuclear fuel. The process of enriching uranium is highly complicated and can only be done in certain countries — including Russia. Uranium fuel starts as uranium ore, a naturally occurring radioactive material. Only very little of this ore is useful for fuel. Once mined, the ore is converted into yellowcake, which is just concentrated uranium. That yellowcake is turned into a gas, which is enriched with the isotope U-235. This isotope is fissile, making it more efficient for nuclear fuel. Only a few countries can do this enrichment process, and Russia is one of them. The US relies on Russia for 14 percent of its enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.

Credit: The NewYork Times

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is exposing a lesser-known unexpected link between Russia and the United States: the nuclear fuel supply chain. Back in March 2022, President Biden announced sanctions on Russia’s energy exports, specifically oil and gas. But one notable export was left off of that list: uranium. Uranium is an element that powers nuclear power plants. Because of its radioactive properties and a lack of economy, uranium has been a controversial material. The US relied on Russia to supply 14 percent of its enriched uranium for nuclear fuel back in 2021. However, in light of the sanctions, Russia decided to stop exporting uranium to the US. The decision affected several other countries as well-including Iran and North Korea. A few months later, China announced plans to increase its domestic production of enriched uranium by 20 percent over the next five years.

The US needs more enriched uranium and doesn’t have enough supplies to meet the demand. The production of enriched uranium has been cut in half since the Cold War and is closely linked to Russia’s arms control efforts. Putin claims that sanctions are getting in the way of progress, which seems unlikely given how much damage sanctions could do to his country.