WAIT, WHAT?!

Centrus receives uranium import waiver

22 July 2024

Centrus Energy has received a waiver from the US Department of Energy (DOE) allowing it to import low-enriched uranium from Russia for delivery to US customers in 2024 and 2025.

Building domestic capacity: centrifuges at Centrus's HALEU demonstration programme (Image: Centrus)

The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act will go into effect on 11 August, banning the import into the USA of unirradiated, low-enriched uranium (LEU) that is produced in the Russian Federation or by a Russian entity. The bipartisan legislation was signed by President Joe Biden in May, after being passed unanimously by the US Senate.

The waiver process was put in place to ensure US nuclear plants do not experience supply disruptions in the short term, while the country builds up its domestic low-enriched uranium (LEU) capacity. Waivers to allow the import of limited quantities of Russian-origin material may be granted by the US Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, if it is determined that no alternative viable source of LEU is available, or that the importation of Russian LEU is in the national interest. Waivers will only be available up to 1 January 2028: the prohibition will remain in place until the end of 2040.

Centrus filed its first waiver request application - covering deliveries from 11 August 2024 to the end of 2027 - on 27 May. On 18 July, the DOE issued a waiver allowing it to import LEU from Russia "for deliveries already committed by the Company to its US customers in years 2024 and 2025," the company said in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The DOE has deferred a decision on 2026 and 2027 to "an unspecified date closer in time to the deliveries", Centrus said.

A second waiver request application to allow the importation of LEU from Russia for processing and re-export to Centrus's foreign customers, filed on 7 June, is awaiting determination from the DOE.

Centrus has also said it intends to file a third waiver request application to allow for importation of LEU from Russia in 2026 and 2027 for use in the USA. This would be for deliveries that have yet to be committed to customers.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News