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Joe Biden has signed a bipartisan bill that bans imports of enriched uranium from Russia, in Washington’s latest effort to put more pressure on Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.
The ban on imports of nuclear power plant fuel begins in about 90 days, although it allows the Department of Energy (DOE) to issue waivers in case of supply problems until 2028.
Russia is the world’s largest supplier of enriched uranium, and about 24% of the enriched uranium used by US nuclear power plants comes from the country.
In the weeks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the White House banned imports of Russian oil and gas in an attempt to cut off sources of foreign revenue for Russia. Since then, the US and its allies have imposed additional sanctions on Russia and its vast energy industry.
The delay in banning Russian uranium is due in part to US dependence on Russian imports and concerns that the country’s 93 nuclear reactors could shut down due to a lack of fuel.
While the US is the largest market for nuclear fuel, its current domestic enrichment capacity can only supply 30% of the fuel needed for its dozens of reactors, a US House of Representatives report on the newly passed legislation said.
The report highlights US dependence on “Russia’s state nuclear power company Rosatom and its subsidiary Tenex.”
Kathryn Huff, the Energy Department’s assistant secretary for nuclear affairs, said last week that the U.S. has been preparing since 2022 for the possibility that Putin stops selling it uranium by working to increase domestic uranium fuel processing capacity.
The law would “strengthen our nation’s energy and economic security by reducing and ultimately eliminating our dependence on Russia for civilian nuclear power.” Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, said in a statement.
Law firm Morgan Lewis, which advises nuclear reactor owners on fuel supply and regulatory issues, said “other uranium sources and enrichment services, along with the recovery of the domestic fuel cycle industry, should ultimately blunt any significant Act’s Effects on the US Nuclear Industry’.
The legislation banning Russian uranium also unlocks about $2.7 billion in funding to increase capacity in the U.S. uranium production industry.
The House report on the new law said one U.S. conversion facility is already restarting and will be able to supply the equivalent of about “40 percent of U.S. market demand in the near future.”
Countries including Canada, France and Japan will help the US deal with an “allied alternative” to Russian uranium, Huff said last week.
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Rosatom’s diversification into other areas that benefit Russia’s military efforts has been highlighted by US lawmakers as a reason to cut off the flow of US funds to the Russian state-owned enterprise.
“One still unsanctioned but critical target should be the network of companies linked to Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which continues to expand its reach despite the ongoing war,” House Rep. Lloyd Doggett wrote last month.
The reports detail Rosatom’s role in funneling equipment and resources to the Russian military.
“As Rosatom and its subsidiaries continue to diversify into sectors outside the nuclear industry, the company has become an unapproved funnel for high-tech products, not to mention additional revenue, to bolster Putin’s war machine,” Doggett wrote in Foreign Policy last month .
Reuters contributed to this report
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