A united front against Russia: How the Sapporo nuclear agreement will isolate Putin and strengthen Britain

The G7 Energy Ministers meeting, which took place in Sapporo in the northern most Japanese island of Hokkaido in April was unsurprisingly focussed primarily on issues of energy security, co-operation and resilience in a world where the impact of Russian aggression in Ukraine has been felt most keenly on the energy markets.

While last winter the UK managed to get through thanks to a combination of good fortune with relatively mild weather and billions of pounds spent on support for consumers energy bills, it is apparent to all that eventually luck runs out and it would be economically ruinous to have to subsidise market power prices to such an extent in perpetuity. Similar pressures have been felt across the G7 nations to varying degrees, and the geopolitical context has pushed leading economies closer in collaborating on an effective response that ensures resilience and reliability.

Of course, it should be of no surprise to anybody reading this that collaboration on nuclear power helps to provide a significant part of the answer in a climate friendly way high amounts of sovereign power, with no carbon emissions, and predictable long term pricing.

A dose of reality over the past eighteen months have helped governments realise that not only does nuclear have an integral role to play, taking an active approach will deliver more at a faster rate and provide economic benefits. That is why we have seen the UK, USA and Canada reinvigorate their nuclear policies to be at the forefront of development of small modular reactors with a global reach; France approve plans to deliver new reactors ready to replace the oldest of their current fleet; and Japan re-starting more of the power stations mothballed since the Fukushima tidal wave. We are seeing accelerating plans for nuclear capacity in central and Eastern Europe, a reversal of anti-nuclear policy in South Korea and the debate over the potential of civil nuclear in Australia.

For the first time ever, at the G7 Energy Ministers meeting, there was a nuclear energy forum organised by our counterparts in the USA (NEI) and Japan (JAIF), with support from ourselves, CNA (Canada), nucleareurope (EU), and the World Nuclear Association and attended by Ministers from the UK, USA, Canada, Japan and France. While side events at global gatherings are not unusual, to have one that both attracted the interest, involvement and attendance of so many Ministers is not the norm. Senior leaders from competitor companies across the nuclear fuel cycle and supply chain in each of our countries were able to illustrate both the impetus and appetite for an unprecedented level of international collaboration to help deliver the capacity needed for a sustainable and resilient future power market, reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, including those originating in Russia. Or as Jennifer Granholm, the US Energy Secretary, referred to it in Saporro collaborative effort.

While nuclear power is uniquely able to offer resilience and energy security alongside constant, reliable supply and without harmful emissions when generating power, there is one area of the equation where Russia continues to have a significant foothold in fuel supply. That is why G7 Ministers in Sapporo agreed a communique that both included a commitment to working more closely together on civil nuclear power and an agreement to counter Russia’s role in global nuclear energy by “leveraging the respective resources and capabilities of each country’s civil nuclear power sectors to undermine Russia’s grip on supply chains” with the aim of isolating it out of the nuclear fuel market.

As the world turns increasingly to nuclear as a source of low-carbon and secure energy, this landmark agreement provides Britain with significant export opportunities that would utilise our sovereign capability and make us a world leader in providing our allies with the supplies needed to wean off dependence on Russian nuclear fuel capability.

Britain’s leadership in the response from Europe to the Ukraine conflict has been commended. However, we make further strides by helping the West resist Russia’s continued aggressive and successful exports in civil nuclear, which feed revenue into the Russian war economy, with the potential to undermine the energy security and strategic position of the Western Alliance, including allies in NATO, the EU and the Pacific.

Just as the Kremlin weaponised Europe’s dependence on gas, it could also exploit global reliance on the Russian nuclear fuel supply to undermine support for Ukraine. Rosatom, the Russian state-run nuclear power giant, has been absent from Western sanctions as it is a pivotal supplier for over 30 countries that depend on it to maintain their nuclear facilities and provide fuel to run them. Without Russian fuel supplies, the world would face a 15% gap in uranium conversion and a 20% shortfall in enrichment supplies.

The UK Government should support investments in UK fuel capabilities on the back of the G7 agreement because there is strategic value to cutting Western dependency on Russian energy sources beyond what can be captured in purely commercial decisions. We are uniquely positioned to help with a conversion facility, which is currently inactive, at Springfields in Lancashire and the capability to increase enrichment capacity at Capenhurst in Chester.

In April, Urenco signed a new agreement for enrichment services to supply the Kozloduy nuclear power plant in Bulgaria. Urenco’s Chief Executive Officer Boris Schucht said, “Urenco is ready to support countries seeking to increase their energy security and independence“.

The Department for Energy Security Net Zero can support UK Industry in signing future agreements with countries looking to diversify their nuclear fuel supply chain by making targeted interventions via the Nuclear Fuel Fund to increase UK fuel capability that will create hundreds of jobs in the UK, secure strategic capability and slash Kremlin export revenues and energy leverage by bringing developing nations toward the democratic, rules-based order rather than authoritarian spheres of influence.

The G7 and Western nations should not stop there. By offering the technology and fuel to deploy nuclear power, Russia’s approach deliberately creates a path of dependency on Russian money, capability and goodwill, which the Kremlin can ruthlessly exploit.

With Great British Nuclear establishing an SMR down-selection process, to be completed later this year, the UK is in a position to facilitate the export viability of an alternative to Russian reactors and replace its global portfolio of projects and services.

The Sapporo agreement marks an important step in ensuring the UK and its allies can make significant strides in creating a more robust global nuclear supply chain, free from Russian influence. It also presents an opportunity for Britain to be a world leader in nuclear fuel and to reap the economic benefits that would bring. An opportunity, and a prize, that we should not miss.