By Oyintari Ben
The European Union (EU) nuclear body, Euratom, stated on Tuesday that it saw no immediate risk to nuclear power generation in Europe if Niger stopped delivering uranium.
According to Euratom, the second-largest exporter of natural uranium to the European Union, last year was Niger, a West African nation where a coup seized power last week.
In order to power the bloc’s nuclear power reactors for three years, it was claimed that utilities in the region had enough uranium on hand.
According to Euratom, there are no immediate threats to the security of nuclear power generation in the near future if imports from Niger are reduced.
France, a major nuclear energy supplier in Europe and a former colonial power in Niger announced on Tuesday that it would evacuate its people as well as those of other European nations following the collapse of the nation’s democratically elected government.
The 27-nation EU executive commission added that the region had “sufficient uranium inventories to mitigate any short-term supply risks.”
A spokesman for the executive stated, “Medium and long-term, there are enough deposits on the world market” to meet EU needs.
Euratom said Niger supplied 2,975 tU of natural uranium in 2022, or 25.4% of the EU’s needs. Kazakhstan was the largest provider to the bloc, with Canada coming in third.
In contrast to the typical yearly consumption of about 12,500 tU, the agency reported that the natural uranium equivalent in inventories owned by EU utilities last year totalled 35,710 tU.
It stated that the bloc might diversify imports in up to three years, including from newly discovered reserves and currently idled production facilities in Canada, Australia, and Namibia.
