WEMO24-Compiled Report-Interactive compressed (002) 4154-7882-8116 v.1 - Flipbook - Page 11
Global
Outlook
Miniaturization is not so easy. For example, in July 2024 the
French Nuward governance body has decided to completely
overhaul the design of its SMR, Specifically, the innovative
idea of an integrated boiler (combining the reactor vessel
and steam generators) used in submarine small reactors has
been discarded in favour of a more traditional design.
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Acceptance procedures and local acceptance in many sites
could be challenging (while in developed countries new large
reactor are built on existing sites where grid connection
exists, and local population welcomes nuclear facilities).
Non-proliferation control of scattered nuclear material
Hopefully, these challenges will be overcome and SMRs will be
deployed alongside with large size reactors.
announced in June 2024, that it had withdrawn from the French
nuclear group Orano its operating permit for the Imouraren
deposit, one of the largest in the world.34
FIGURE 3
World uranium production and reactor requirements, 1945-2022, tU
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
Uranium resources are better distributed around the world than
those of oil or gas and nuclear electricity producers have large
strategic stocks.
However, the price of uranium price increased significantly
during the last three years32 from 30$/lb33 in June 2021 to 86$lb
in June 2024 with a peak of 106$/lb in January 2024
32 https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/uranium
33 Uranium price is expressed in $/U3O8 pound https://www.uranium.info/unit_conversion_table.
php
34 Niger produces 5% of world uranium supplies but 15% of French supplies
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This price increase is linked to new nuclear reactor construction
programs announcements, and to the unstable situation
in certain producing countries such as Niger. This country,
where the former government was overthrown in July 2023,
0
1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990
1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
Others
USSR
Uzbekistan
Kazakhstan
Russia
Romania
Czech Republic
Former East Germany
United States
South Africa
Niger
Namibia
France
Canada
Australia
World requirements
35 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3224183/
china-gives-green-light-nuclear-reactor-burns-thorium-fuel-could-power-country-20000-years
Ukraine
As will be detailed below, the Advanced
Modular Reactors projects based
on breeder generation, will make it
possible to produce around 100 more
electricity with the same quantity of
uranium than the reactors currently in
service.
In addition, China is developing projects
using thorium instead of uranium as the
fissile element. Thorium is even more
abundant than uranium in nature.
The availability of uranium resources is
therefore not a concern in the medium
term. In the short term, tensions could
exist, particularly linked to the time
needed to open new mines.35
WEMO 2024
To benefit from components industrialization, the same
type of SMR design must be deployed at industrial scale in
several different countries, hence, the needed cooperation
between different National Safety Authorities.
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