The price of uranium, a raw material for nuclear fuel in nuclear power plants, is soaring to the highest level in about 12 years due to the global increase in construction and operation of nuclear power plants and the impact of the war in Ukraine.
According to the Economist, a British weekly magazine, on the 21st (local time), the spot price of uranium, which was around $20 per pound until the beginning of 2020, was 65 dollars as of the 18th. This is the highest since 2011, when the accident at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant occurred in Japan.
There are also concerns in the industry that uranium prices could soar to $100 per pound in the future.
Supplies from the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 uranium suppliers are already out of stock by 2027, and some nuclear power plants are expected to lack nuclear fuel in 2024, the media reported.
The global uranium market has entered a state of oversupply as countries such as Japan and Germany stopped operating nuclear power plants after the Fukushima 1 nuclear accident in 2011.
The two main factors that have shaken the uranium market, which has remained quiet since then, are soaring demand and supply instability.
First of all, as the need to respond to climate change is urgent and the war in Ukraine has led to a decrease in the supply of natural gas and a surge in prices, governments in each country are turning to nuclear power plants again.
Currently, more than 60 new nuclear reactors are under construction worldwide, and the global nuclear power generation capacity is estimated to increase by 15% over the next 10 years.
Also, if the SMR, which is considered one of the next-generation nuclear power plants, is supplied, the global demand for uranium could explode.
In addition, financial capital that has read this trend has also joined the uranium market, increasing investment demand.
