Page 13 - bne monthly magazine June 2024 Russian Despair Index

bne June 2024 Companies & Markets I 13
nuclear power plants – leads to new shocks in international economic relations. The delicate balance between exporters and importers of uranium products is under threat," he said.
According to the ambassador, "Washington lacks enough national enrichment capacity and so is harming its own economy. Moreover, the financial losses for the United States will be much greater than for Russia. However, the main thing for local strategists is to harm our country," Tass reports.
A new law, approved by the Senate, calls for an immediate ban, but includes a system of waivers for anyone that wants them until January 2028 if it serves the "national interests"
of the States. Likewise, Europe has no uranium nor refineries. Countries that do have raw uranium like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, lack significant enriching capacity and rely on Russia to produce the yellow cake.
As nuclear power plant (NPP) deals come with 60-year long fuel supply deals, uranium has become the new gas. Since 2023 Rosatom has been the exclusive supplier of products related to enriched uranium for Brazilian nuclear facilities. This historic agreement is the first long-term partnership with Brasilia, replacing previous imports from Canada and European consortia.
These deals come at a time when Rosatom is trying to expand its relations with the BRICS countries to increase its participation in the sale of nuclear subsidies for the production of radioisotopes in these nations and obtain financing from the New Development Bank (previously known as the BRICS bank).
Russia's nuclear exports are booming. One of the biggest new reactors was inaugurated on April 27, 2023, by Turkish President Erdoğan, the Russian built Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Turkey's first nuclear reactor.
It will begin operation in 2025 with four VVER 1200 pressurised water reactors and will be responsible for around 10% of the total national electricity production. Located in the southern Turkish province of Mersin, the nuclear power plant was also 93% financed by Rosatom.
In North Africa, a region facing rapid population growth and an insatiable hunger for power, Russia has initiated strategic dialogues with countries such as Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, which have signed MOUs with Rosatom.
Several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Ethiopia, also have agreements related to nuclear energy with Rosatom. Russia seeks a diplomatic rapprochement with countries
like Nigeria, based on cooperation in uranium exploration and the establishment of a nuclear power plant financed by Russian lines of credit. Moscow has pursued preferential access to the continent's uranium and rare earth mines, as seen in agreements with Tanzania and Namibia.
South Africa is also looking to Moscow as it has been suffering rolling blackouts for years. In 2023, Pretoria decided to boost nuclear energy production, with Rosatom help. However, plans for the creation of new nuclear power plants are facing serious resistance , due to corruption allegations surrounding a previous agreement.
Russia's nuclear diplomacy has also extended to South Asia. India has agreed to the construction of units 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant that has rekindled an old partnership that dates back to the agreements with the Soviet Union.
Likewise, the Russian company operates in Bangladesh, with preparations underway for the construction of the Rooppur nuclear power plant, the country's first nuclear energy facility.
In Sri Lanka Russia is a potential candidate to build nuclear reactors as part of a recently published long-term project to boost local energy production in the country.
In Latin America Russia is seeking greater access to the continent's raw materials markets. Bolivia has signed off on a $450mn contract with Rosatom to the construction of a complex for the extraction and production of lithium carbonate, an essential material for the cooling and containment systems of nuclear reactors. Russia has also expanded nuclear collaboration with Brazil .
“In Sri Lanka Russia is a potential candidate to build nuclear reactors as part of a recently published long-term project to boost local energy production in the country”
Russia's strategic use of nuclear alliances with countries in the Global South not only increases its global influence, but also raises challenges related to technology transfer and economic dependence. These partnerships often rely heavily on Russian technology and funding that bind the client states to Moscow.
Russia and Kazakhstan big nuclear players
Russia has yet to embrace green energy and relies heavily on nuclear power, followed by hydropower.
The Russian Energy Strategy 2030, published in November 2009, envisaged a doubling of generation capacity from 225 GWe in 2008 to 355-445 GWe in 2030.
A revised scheme in mid-2010 projected 1288 TWh demand in 2020 and 1553 TWh in 2030, requiring 78 GWe of new plant by 2020 and total 178 GWe new build by 2030, including 43.4
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