Contribution of the European Nuclear Industry to EU Energy Security

Richard Ivens, FORATOMUkrainian Nuclear Forum RoundtableKiev, 24 September 2014

FORATOM is the Brussels-based trade association for the nuclear

industry in Europe

• 16 national nuclear associations active across Europe

• More than 800 organisations represented (vendors, utilities, nuclear

fuel cycle, engineering, transport, waste storage, lawyers,

consultants, insurers)

• 250,000 direct and 900,000 total jobs

• €50 billion per year turnover

What FORATOM is

FORATOM Members: major industry players

• Acts as voice of nuclear energy industry in European Union energy

policy debate

• Enhances relations between nuclear industry and EU institutions

• Delivers information on nuclear energy to EU institutions, media and the

public

• Informs its members about developments emerging from EU institutions

• Interacts with intergovernmental organisations (like IAEA, OECD/NEA,

IEA, and WANO)

• Communicates latest science and technology in co-operation with

European Nuclear Society (ENS)

What FORATOM does

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• Requested by Council on 20/21 March 2014 as a result of “Ukraine crisis”

• “EC to carry out an in depth study of EU’s energy security and deliver, by

June 2014, a comprehensive plan for the reduction of EU’s energy

dependence”

• Published on 28 May 2014 as COM(2014) 330 final (24 pages)

• Accompanied on 2 July 2014 by Staff Working Document SWD(2014) 330

final (233 pages)

1. Note that a Communication is a non-binding discussion document. It may lead to future EU legislation. Only Directives and

Regulations, once approved by Council and Parliament, are legally binding in the Member States.

EC Communication1 “European Energy Security Strategy”

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• Increasing gas stocks

• Developing emergency infrastructure such as reverse

flows

• Reducing short-term energy demand

• Switching to alternative fuels

Recommended short term measures

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• Increasing energy efficiency and reaching the proposed 2030

energy and climate goals

• Increasing energy production in the EU and diversifying

supplier countries and routes

• Completing the internal energy market and building missing

infrastructure links

• Speaking with one voice in external energy policy

• Strengthening emergency and solidarity mechanisms and

protecting critical infrastructure

Recommended medium to long term measures

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• Total energy 53%

• Crude oil 90%

• Natural gas 66%

• Solid fuels 42%

• Uranium 95%

• Uranium enrichment 39%

• Nuclear fuel 40%

• 6 Member States totally dependent on Russia for natural gas

• 3 Member States totally dependent on Russia for electricity grid

• 4 Member States totally dependent on Russia for nuclear fuel

Current EU energy dependence

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• Nuclear provides reliable, emission-free baseload electricity

• Cost of nuclear fuel is marginal

• Worldwide uranium supply market is stable and well diversified

• EU has technological leadership in whole fuel cycle chain

• Particular attention should be paid to NPPs using non-EU

technology, to ensure these plants are not dependent only on

Russia for fuel supplies

EC Communication: Uranium and Nuclear Fuel

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• The Commission and Member States should jointly “cooperate to

diversify supply of nuclear fuel when needed”

• The Commission will “systematically take into consideration

diversification of fuel supplies in its assessment of new nuclear

investment projects and new draft agreements or contracts with

third countries”

“Key actions” on uranium and nuclear fuel

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• Legal powers under Chapter 6 of the Euratom Treaty

• Monitors and co-signs all nat. and enriched uranium supply

contracts

• Encourages diversity of supply; warns individual users of excessive

dependency on a single supplier and in some cases enforces action

• Surveys market trends and reports annually

• New role to scrutinise diversity of supply for new NPP investments

(via Article 41 Euratom)

The role of the Euratom Supply Agency

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• Current uranium inventory of 54,000t, equivalent to ~3 years supply

• Conversion capacity nearly matches EU requirements

• Enrichment capacity (AREVA and Urenco) more than sufficient to

cover EU needs

• Reprocessing capacity in France (and UK)

• Transport and storage not a problem

• Limited number of fuel fabricators (AREVA, Westinghouse, TVEL)

• Utilities with Western designed reactors usually split fuel cycle

suppliers; supply for Russian designed reactors normally “bundled”

EU fuel cycle capabilities

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EU uranium enrichment share 2012, 2013

Source: ESA

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• 2050 Energy Roadmap (February 2011)

• 2050 Energy Roadmap – post Fukushima update (October 2011)

• Nuclear Safety Directive (September 2013)

• Nuclear 3rd party liability (October 2013)

• Environment & Energy Aid Guidelines (February 2014)

• Hinkley Point C (UK) state aid inquiry (April 2014)

• 2030 Climate & Energy Policy (March 2014)

• Security of energy supply (June 2014)

FORATOM responses to recent EC public consultations

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• Nuclear energy offers diversity from other energy forms, notably fossil fuels

• Nuclear generates electricity in 14 of the 28 EU Member States, producing

~30% of the EU’s electricity, 53% of the low-C electricity

• NPPs operate at high availability, typically 85-90%

• Fuel resources are available from a variety of politically stable countries

• EU companies offer commercial mining, conversion, enrichment, fuel

fabrication and recycling capabilities

• Uranium requirements are small and marginal in terms of cost; on-site

storage of several years’ worth of fuel is common practice

• Nuclear electricity is competitive with other forms of energy

FORATOM Position Paper on Security of Energy Supply: key points

Thank you for your attention!

www.foratom.org