Europe has acted quickly and has been able to turn its back on Russian oil and gas since the start of the war in Ukraine. But becoming independent of the Russian nuclear industry will be much more difficult.

Through Russian state-owned nuclear energy giant Rosatom, Russia dominates the global nuclear energy supply chain. In 2021, it was the third largest supplier of uranium in Europe, accounting for 20% of the total supply. Due to the lack of alternatives, despite calls from Kyiv, there were few people willing to impose sanctions against Rosatom. Russia controls 38% of the world uranium conversion market and 46% of uranium enrichment production capacity. Those countries that have Russian-made nuclear reactors are much more dependent. In five EU countries, all reactors, 18 in total, are built in Russia.

In addition, two more are being prepared for operation in the near future in Slovakia and two more are under construction in Hungary, which strengthens the cooperative relationship with Rosatom. The companies running these power plants had no other choice. Through its subsidiary TVEL, Rosatom was practically the only producer of fuel mixtures used as energy in nuclear reactors. After the invasion of Ukraine, some European countries began to distance themselves from the Russian nuclear industry.

In 2021, Russian nuclear power giant Rosatom was the third largest uranium supplier in Europe.

Czech energy company CEZ has signed a contract with Westinghouse Electric Company of Pennsylvania and France’s Framatome to supply fuel for its Temelin plant. Finland abandoned its nuclear reactor partnership with Rosatom and instead hired Westinghouse to develop, license and supply a new type of fuel for its Loivisa plant.

Bulgaria has also signed a ten-year contract with Westinghouse to supply fuel for existing reactors. And last week, he signed an agreement with an American company to build new blocks of nuclear reactors. Poland is preparing to build its first nuclear power plant, which will include three Westinghouse nuclear reactors. After all, Slovakia and Hungary are Russia’s closest allies in the EU. they also negotiated with alternative suppliers.

As for Ukraine, since 2014 and the annexation of Crimea to Russia, serious efforts have begun to excommunicate it from the Russian nuclear industry. And Kyiv has signed a contract with Westinghouse to supply fuel for 15 Soviet-era Ukrainian reactors that provide about 50 percent of the country’s electricity.

Once again, however, international efforts to wean themselves off the Russian nuclear industry will be especially difficult. The nuclear supply chain is extremely complex, and building another one would take years and a lot of money. In the meantime, Rosatom has proven to be extremely successful both in business and as a vehicle for increasing Russian influence. As industry experts note, its success is largely due to the ability to offer a full package of services and products: raw materials, training, technical support, maintenance, nuclear waste disposal and, perhaps most importantly, financing on favorable terms.