Urenco CEO: EU's unclear position on Russian nuclear fuel is holding back investment
Urenco CEO says that uncertainty over the European Union's decision to ban Russian nuclear fuel has slowed investment in the uranium industry of 'Europe.' The bloc is yet to make a final ruling on the issue despite its pledge to reduce dependence on Russian energy. The EU has not imposed any import restrictions or bans on Russian nuclear fuel, even though the bloc has imposed restrictions on its oil. In May 2025, the European Commission announced that it would be proposing a phase out of Russian nuclear fuel. However, this has not yet been done. The European Commission spokesperson didn't immediately respond to our request for comment.
"We need to be guided by what the societies want. This is not the case in Europe. We have it in the UK. We have it in the U.S. Boris Schucht stated in an interview that "not in Europe".
Schucht replied, "Yes of course, it costs Europe investment in uranium-enrichment capacity".
He said, "It is very difficult to take investment decisions when there are huge over-capacity on the Russian side. They could easily return."
INVESTMENTS IN EUROPE NEED?CLARITY SAYS CEO Urenco is one of the largest uranium-enrichment companies in the world, and it is expanding its capacity at sites across Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as the U.S. Further investments in Europe are dependent on whether Russian exports can be redirected to the EU from the U.S., which could occur if the EU continues to accept Russian products, Schucht said.
"Will the previous exports to the U.S. reach the EU in a few short years? "It would not be logical for us to expand our plans within the EU," said he.
The U.S. is planning a ban on Russian Uranium in 2028. This year, $2.7 billion was committed to public funding for the expansion of domestic uranium enrichment. In May, the UK banned most Russian uranium exports.
Schucht said that it wasn't up to the industry to decide whether or not to "ban Russian nuclear fuel", but Western companies could adapt their operations in order to meet short-term demands if this was done by the EU. EU officials said there was little appetite for a ban that would be opposed by major buyers of Russian nuclear energy, such as Slovakia, Hungary, and France.
Customs data revealed that France imported 39% its enriched Uranium from Russia by 2025. EU data shows that Russia supplied 23% of EU's uranium-enrichment services in 2025, and 16% of its?natural uranium.
The order book of Urenco grew by 28% during the first half 2026. This is up EUR6 billion ($6,92 billion) compared to the end 2025.
(source: Reuters)
