World enrichment services market 1990-2005

Journal Article · Wed Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · NUEXCO. Monthly Report to the Nuclear Industry

OSTI ID:103491

Growth in world enrichment capacity, already in oversupply, will lead to a very competitive enrichment services market by the second half of the 1990s. Three of the four primary enrichment suppliers (USDOE, Eurodif, and Urenco) already have the capacity to produce 33 million SWU per year. Explorts from the Soviet Union and the People`s Republic of China (PRC) currently make available an additional six million SWU per year, and that figure could rise substantially. With additional supply capability expected from China, the Soviet Union, Louisiana Energy Services (LES) and Isotope Technologies (ITI), and the increased capacity of Urenco, and possibly even AVLIS from DOE, enrichment supply capability could exceed 46 million SWU per year by the year 2000. Yet annual enrichment requirements are only estimated to grow from 23.5 million SWU in 1990, to 28.9 million SWU by 2000. Total unfilled enrichment requirements will rise significantly in the second half of the 1990s, particularly from US utilities, creating sales opportunities for which suppliers will compete aggressively. These factors foretell a very competitive market in which sellers will offer low prices and flexible contracts. The anticipation of such strong competition also raises the question of which enrichment technology will succeed, and puts tremendous pressure on all suppliers to find cost-effective means of production as quickly as possible.

• OSTI ID: 103491
• Journal Information: NUEXCO. Monthly Report to the Nuclear Industry, Journal Name: NUEXCO. Monthly Report to the Nuclear Industry Journal Issue: 264; ISSN 0742-4582; ISSN NUEXD3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
ENRICHED URANIUM
GLOBAL ASPECTS
ISOTOPE SEPARATION
MARKET
PRODUCTION
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT