In 2021, Urenco had no plans to expand in the US. But standing in a vast storeroom in Eunice crammed with ready-to-ship canisters, each filled with more than 2 tons of enriched uranium and worth $1 million, Keith Armstrong, the company’s chief of staff, said orders have increased almost 25% in the past year as the world tries to avoid Rosatom. 

Armstrong, who has worked at Urenco for 11 years, said Moscow’s militarism had jolted the industry and exposed gaping vulnerabilities. “The invasion of Ukraine changed the market dramatically,” he said. “It went from a static state to ‘we need to expand now.’”

Eoin Treacy's view

There has been a great deal of speculation about Russia’s potential to enforce an embargo on oil and gas exports. That ignores the country’s clear need to earn foreign income as well as the difficulty in capping supply from oil wells drilled into permafrost. It is much more likely Russia could use its dominant position as a nuclear fuel provider to squeeze the US and European economies.