Diversification of supply discussed at WNFM conference

Security of supply, ESG, and the ability of suppliers to cope with the diversification away from Russian nuclear fuel were all topics discussed at the 2023 World Nuclear Fuel Market conference. 

Urenco took part in two different panel discussions at the event in Slovenia between June 4 and 6. 

Chief Commercial Officer, Laurent Odeh, was on the June 5 panel “The current landscape and where we’re headed,” while Vice President of Market Development & Technical Sales, Sarah Riedel, took part in the June 6 panel “Staying on track”.    

Laurent said that given Russia had been responsible for providing between 20 and 25 percent of EUP exports, investments would be needed in both conversion and enrichment areas of the nuclear fuel supply chain. 

Urenco is already thinking about the future of enrichment and has launched a capacity programme to continue to reverse underfeeding, refurbish existing capacity at all four of its sites, and position itself to expand capacity as the market needs it. 

The first decisions on capacity expansion are to be taken this year by the Urenco Board.  

Meanwhile, Sarah shared with the conference attendees that Urenco believed the Ukraine conflict was a “landmark moment” for ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), and there was momentum behind diversification of supply to support energy independence. 

She added that Urenco’s market-driven approach allows the company to be resilient in the face of unforeseen events. She noted that by “utilizing both operational flexibility and organizational agility, Urenco is well-positioned to respond to changing environments.” 

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