REM: UK to build uranium enrichment plant to break Russian monopoly

The United Kingdom will attempt to break Russia's virtual monopoly on the production of enriched uranium used to power nuclear plants by building its own enrichment facility.

The UK government announced plans to allocate $246mn to the Urenco consortium to establish a high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) production line at its Capenhurst facility in England. This move will make Britain the first European nation to produce modern nuclear fuel.

Currently, Russia's state-owned nuclear giant Rosatom remains the world's sole commercial supplier of HALEU, which contains higher concentrations of uranium isotopes needed for fission. This composition allows nuclear power plants (NPPs) to operate more efficiently by reducing the frequency of refuelling and potentially lowering operational costs.