Ukraine’s Nuclear Plants Operator Signs Multi-Year Contract with Large Uranium Supplier

A state company managing all nuclear power plants in Ukraine has signed a multi-year contract with one of the largest uranium suppliers in the world, taking yet another step towards energy independence.

According to the agreement, Cameco, a Canadian company, is to supply Ukraine with all necessary natural uranium hexafluoride in the years 2024 through 2035 for all four nuclear power plants, including the Zaporizhzhya NPP after its de-occupation.

Uranium hexafluoride is a chemical compound of uranium that is used as a starting material in producing fuel for nuclear reactors.

In addition, the Canadian company will buy all uranium produced by the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant in central Ukraine, owned by the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, and convert it.

"This is one of the largest and most important contracts for Cameco. Our company will help Ukraine maintain its energy independence and provide your country with electricity through the supply of our nuclear fuel," said Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel.

The two contracts between Energoatom and Cameco paves the way for an arrangement on specific volumes of uranium product supplies, to be drafted and signed within a month, said Energoatom President Petro Kotin.

Cameco is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, accounting for nine per cent of global uranium production by late 2021.

It already supplied uranium products to Ukrainian nuclear power plants in 2019 and 2021, and last year, it announced the acquisition of the American Westinghouse Electric, Ukraine's partner in the nuclear energy sector.

In recent years, Ukraine has been gradually converting its nuclear power units from Russian to American nuclear fuel produced by Westinghouse, which completed with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.