OPINION | DAVID HESS
Challenging the bear
Russia still dominates the nuclear power plant export market and
especially when it comes to newcomer countries. If other vendor nations are to beat the Russians here then they need to focus on offering a better export package, rather than just better technology.
David Hess, Senior VP DeepGeo
N EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA, Russia is treated as a pariah state for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine – a conflict that has lasted for over three years now. Significant moves have been taken to remove Russian corporate presence from these countries, and in the nuclear sector there are ongoing efforts to reduce dependence on Russian nuclear suppliers
and fuel cycle services. Chief on the hit list of course is mega-company Rosatom, which is seen by many as an extension of Russian government interests. Perhaps counter-intuitively given all the media attention
on the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Station, the invasion has contributed to resurgent nuclear energy prospects in Europe, North America and perhaps even globally as the ripple effects of the invasion sent shock waves through global energy markets. Governments were reminded again how important energy security is and have scrambled to shore up their autonomy. These are efforts which continue to this day.
Outside of ‘the West’, antipathy towards Russia is
nowhere near as strong. For large parts of the world the Ukraine conflict is essentially a European affair. There may be some posturing on the international stage, but these countries remain very much open to doing business with Russia and are more than happy to consider Russian nuclear offerings. Indeed, Russia has a firm hold on many of the most advanced nuclear newcomer nations which have yet to break ground on their first plant. In central Asia, for instance, Kazakhstan has signed
with Rosatom for construction of its first nuclear plant. The country which currently supplies about 50% of the world’s uranium is surely a key strategic market for any nuclear vendor nation. It now looks as if it is all sewn up. In what appears to be an abundance of political wisdom given where the country is situated, the Kazakhs will also work with Chinese nuclear supplier CNNC for its second nuclear plant. Western vendors clearly did not get a serious look in. Uzbekistan, another significant uranium producer, has
©Alexy Kovynev
also just commenced a study with Rosatom, looking at as many as four VVER 1000s. Given their proximity to Russia this is hardly a surprising outcome for these countries, but the theme continues as we look further afield. In South East Asia, Rosatom was previously the leading
candidate to build the first nuclear power plant in Vietnam before that country paused its nuclear programme in 2016. More recent news suggests this may be back on the cards and Rosatom is already back at the table. Rosatom is also openly talking to the Philippines and Indonesia about floating nuclear power plants, where the archipelago nature of these countries makes this technology a suitable candidate. Russian nuclear export dominance extends to Africa
“And don’t forget, if you order two units, the floating nuclear power plant is free”
16 | October 2025 |
www.neimagazine.com
where the country seems to enjoy the reputation as the nuclear vendor of choice. It effectively broke the ice on long-stalled African nuclear development when it broke ground on the Egyptian plant in El Dabaa in 2022. Other African nations are clearly enticed by the details of that deal, and particularly the financing arrangements. While news on African nuclear deals is often sketchy and mostly seems to come through state media outlets, among
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