SMRs for DCs: Understanding the Global Uranium Supply Chain and Recent Disruptions

The uranium market faces a supply deficit, driven by new tech like #SMRs and #datacentre power needs. Prices are rising due to expected supply tightness and challenges in bringing new mines online. There's a global race to secure HALEU, crucial for advanced reactors, with public support essential due to lagging private investments. 𝐑𝐞𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐥 is also gaining significant interest with new reprocessing technologies.

Key uranium suppliers include Russia and Niger, whilst EU dependence on Russian nuclear fuel persists despite sanctions. In Niger, the situation has become more complex, triggered by the July 2023 coup. This has left a significant amount of uranium stranded, impacting both the local economy and global supply. Developing new mines and expanding existing ones in Australia, Kazakhstan, and Canada involves significant economic investment, regulatory approvals, and long-term contracts.

Enriched uranium prices have surged due to reduced Russian imports and Niger's instability, impacting nuclear power costs. The West needs to expand its conversion and enrichment capacity. Adapting legacy reactors for new fuel suppliers can also be costly but necessary for continuous operation. The UK and France are investing in HALEU production to end Russia's dominance in Europe.

SMR construction and energy cost targets have historically been prone to increases due to inflation, labour costs, project delays, regulatory challenges, and supply chain disruptions.

The above developments have a direct impact on the data centre sector, which is increasing being wooed by the potential of nuclear energy in the form of SMRs. The supply constraints and rising prices of uranium are key challenges that deserve strategic focus when considering the need for stable and sustainable energy sources.

Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd supports DC developers by providing strategic sustainability assessments, feasibility studies as well as expert consultations to help evaluate the benefits and challenges of deploying SMRs in addition to turnkey project management from concept to operational launch.

Check out our recent article 'The Green Frontier: Key Considerations for Data Centers Adopting Nuclear SMRs' - https://lnkd.in/dhzbW3Jn

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