COVER STORY | COMMERCIAL HALEU
Above Left: Urenco’s Capenhurst site will have capacity for two centrifuge cascades producing 10 tonnes of HALEU per annum each
Above right: A substantial global export market for HALEU is expected to emerge as advanced reactor technologies and fuels are adopted
establish an investment case. As Mori points out:
“Because there isn’t really a developed market, the role of government to incentivise private investment in this is fundamental. We’ve seen it in the UK as first movers, we’re seeing it in the US where discussions started three years ago with the first draft, the first expression of interest and then the HALEU RFP itself earlier this year. Governments have recognised that and the UK acted really quickly.” Even alongside the £196 m (US$257m) investment from central government, there’s a significant though undisclosed investment commitment from Urenco too. “The UK government is supporting this because there is a strong belief that there will be a market that will not only create jobs in the UK during design and construction, but also create benefit and revenue in the future as the facility will start supplying enrichment services to the world,” says Mori. Indeed, the UK government’s total commitment to support development of a HALEU supply chain stretches to £300m (US$393m) with a large proportion going to enrichment but a significant sum also devoted to a competition for HALEU deconversion services that will convert HALEU in as UF6 into either an oxide or metal. In addition, funds are also being allocated for regulatory resources and transportation and logistics. Under the deconversion competition, grant funding of
up to £70m (US$92m) is available to support the design and development of a commercial-scale oxide HALEU deconversion facility and a commercial-scale metal HALEU deconversion facility in the UK. Initially the facility will have the capacity to process at least 10,000 kgU a year but should be designed to allow for expansion up to at least 30,000 kgU a year. Industry co-funding will be required at a minimum rate 30% with the deconversion facility to be operational by 2031, coinciding with the enrichment plant.
Market prospects While much of the market for HALEU products is anticipated to emerge after 2030 as advanced reactors are deployed, Mori emphasises that a relatively small market nonetheless already exists for HALEU: “We’re expecting a substantial HALEU market to emerge over the following decade or so into the 2030s when people expect the advanced reactors to come online but we shouldn’t forget the role that advanced fuels play today.” He explains: “Estimates are that currently research and
test reactors in the Western world use about four to six tonnes of HALEU per year, that’s existing demand, and then there’s a few hundred kilos that are needed for the production of medical isotopes. It’s also HALEU-based.” Urenco is not currently involved in producing HALEU
fuel as that is dependent on the new HALEU enrichment plant coming online, however, Mori does point out how
36 | September 2024 |
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important the HALEU market is even today: “If you think about the UK, Europe, the Western world, but also globally, there is an existing market that is being serviced, supplied by stockpiles. It’s a market that may not be very big, but it’s an extremely important market because it delivers fundamental research and medical needs. It informs some of the fuel designs, for instance metal fuel designs, that are currently used for research reactors.” And, although the HALEU plant at Capenhurst is still in
early-stage development its existence is globally significant. As Mori says: “This is not just a first for Europe. Right now there is one HALEU enrichment plant in the United States, which has a nameplate capacity of 900 kilos per year, which is obviously not commercial in nature so the facility in Capenhurst promises to be the first commercial-scale plant outside Russia globally.” There is a Request for Proposals (RFP) currently running
in the US that is aimed at stimulating the construction and operation of a commercial HALEU fuel supply chain including enrichment and deconversion but so far, no award has been made, putting Capenhurst in pole position: “We’re pretty confident that we’re going to be first,” says Mori. He is also keen to point out the opportunities for market
growth beyond the UK, saying: “It’s very clear that first movers are in the United States and there’s a lot of interest in Canada so that is one of the markets that we’ll want to supply first in addition to any research and test reactor needs. Euratom has identified minimum requirements for the research and test reactors that are currently under ESA’s supervision and that’s about one tonne of HALEU per year, including medical isotopes. So that is also another potential market to be supplied from the UK and then there’s all the UK interest and activities in the AMR space that we’re monitoring very closely.” Urenco is participating in the US DOE’s HALEU RFP and is
eagerly awaiting potential announcements there, as well as also engaging with the European Union side and the SMR Alliance on feasibility studies for HALEU. Says Mori: “The UK is our primary focus and we have an investment decision there, but we’re not forgetting the US and the European Union as potential opportunities.” Indeed, since the UK announcement he notes there’s already been an uptick of interest in HALEU. “Some initial discussions have moved on to actual offers and negotiations, but nothing has been signed yet,” he says. With massive increases in electricity demand
anticipated over the coming decades, , and the wider reach of advanced nuclear into providing process heat and electricity for industry, advanced reactors are expected to supply a substantial chunk of future nuclear development. In creating the fuel needed to power those reactors the UK has clearly secured a first-mover advantage. ■
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