Rolls-Royce could swerve Putin’s nuclear grip as new reactors can use UK’s own fuel

But there are concerns, in the US for instance, over the current availability of the fuel needed to power these innovations, known as high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU), given the only company selling this commercially at present is TENEX, a branch of the kremlin-controlled nuclear giant Rosatom. 

HALEU is enriched to levels of up to 20 percent, as opposed to the five percent or thereabouts for the uranium which powers most traditional nuclear plants. The Russian monopoly on HALEU is something the US has reportedly been concerned about for some time.

But while the US plans could be in jeopardy because of this, Dr Paul Dorfman, an Associate Fellow from the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex, explained to Express.co.uk that Rolls-Royce, which is championing the UK’s drive for a nuclear revolution, may not have the same problem. 

He said: “It is probably likely that Rolls’ (new reactors) will run on normal five percent uranium, and that can be dealt with via the UK uranium supply which is non-Russian, and UK enrichment, which is also home-based.

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Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1695904/rolls-royce-putin-nuclear-smr-fuel-uranium-haleu