The U.S. administration is pushing lawmakers to support a $4.3 billion plan to buy enriched uranium directly from domestic producers to wean the U.S. off Russian imports of the nuclear-reactor fuel, according to a person familiar with the matter. Shares of uranium companies surged, Bloomberg reported.
Energy Department officials have met with key congressional staff, where they said such funding is urgently needed, said the person, who wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the information. Energy officials made the case that any interruption in the supply of enriched Russian uranium could cause operational disruptions at commercial nuclear reactors, the person said. U.S. nuclear energy industry participants have also been briefed on the proposal, said a second person familiar with the details. The plan requires approval from Congress.
The proposal aims to spur development of more domestic enrichment and other steps needed to turn uranium into reactor fuel, the person said. It would create a government buyer directly purchasing enriched uranium, including the type used in a new breed of advanced reactors now under development.
Still, it won’t be easy for the U.S. to jump-start the domestic uranium industry. The country has only one remaining commercial enrichment facility - a New Mexico plant owned by Urenco Ltd., a British-German-Dutch consortium.
The Global X Uranium ETF, an exchange-traded fund focused on the industry, jumped as much as 7.4% to its highest intraday price in a month on the news. Shares of uranium miners including Cameco Corp. and Energy Fuels Inc. soared along with nuclear fuel provider Centrus Energy Corp.
