Uranium delivery from Russia on its way to Germany to supply Europe’s nuclear plants with fuel rods

A delivery of uranium is on its way from Russia to Germany six months after the beginning of the war on Ukraine and the ensuing energy trading sanctions imposed by the EU, news agency dpa reports in an article carried by news station n-tv. “Further transports are possible,” as licences for the shipments granted in 2021 to the fuel rod factory in the northern German town of Lingen are still valid, the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) said. “There is no uranium embargo at the EU level," an environment ministry spokesperson told the news agency. According to anti-nuclear power activists from the region the shipment of uranium from Russia already embarked towards Rotterdam in the Netherlands, from where it will be transferred to Lingen over the weekend. The factory is owned by French company Framatome and has supplied nuclear plants in Belgium, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Sweden and Finland. 

Russia’s war on Ukraine has led Europe to try wean itself off the country’s fossil fuels. The EU, in accordance with western allies, agreed embargos on coal and oil and is largely phasing out Russian gas. Uranium is used to produce the fuel rods used in nuclear power plants. Nuclear power advocates say the technology can help Europe become more independent from Russia, arguing it provides a reliable low-emission source of energy that can support renewable power supply. Germany's economy ministry earlier this week announced that two of the country's remaining nuclear plants should go into an emergency reserve to support the grid if necessary until spring next year, when the country will phase-out nuclear power production for good. The proposal has come under heavy criticism.