The Russian and Western nuclear industries remain interdependent

The nuclear power industries of Russia and the West have remained interdependent after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which partly explains Europe’s reluctance to impose sanctions on Russia’s nuclear sector, the World Nuclear Industry Status Report showed on Thursday.

“Despite repeated calls – especially from the European Parliament – the nuclear sector remained exempt from sanctions – a clear indication of Russia’s dependence on the field,” according to the industry’s annual report that assesses the evolution of nuclear power in the world.

The report’s authors found that the interdependence between Russia and its Western partners remains significant.

For example, the Russian state firm Rosatom is implementing all 13 nuclear reactor construction sites started outside China in the past five years. Western suppliers of parts for the nuclear industry, such as France’s Arabelle turbines, therefore have no foreign customers apart from Rosatom, the report said.

“The close industrial and market interdependencies between the Russian nuclear industry and its Western counterparts at least partially explain European reluctance to impose sanctions on the nuclear sector,” the report said.

Russia-West interdependence remains as many US and EU allies – with the notable exception of Germany – have turned to nuclear to enhance energy security and become less dependent on energy commodities since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Despite being an industry known for years of delays and huge cost overruns, a global nuclear power renaissance is underway.

The return of nuclear power is expected to lead to record electricity production from nuclear power in 2025, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said earlier this year.

Even as some countries phase out nuclear power or retire plants early, global nuclear generation is expected to grow by nearly 3 percent a year on average through 2026, according to the IEA. Key growth drivers will be the completion of maintenance work in France, the restart of nuclear plants in Japan and new reactors coming online in China, India, South Korea and Europe, among others.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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