Global uranium supply faces increasing pressure as nuclear power capacity expands worldwide and investment in exploration, mining and fuel cycle infrastructure needs to speed up, industry leaders said at a Nuclear Energy Agency webinar.

The webinar, held to mark the 60th anniversary of the “Red Book”, a biennial publication on uranium resources, production and demand produced jointly by the NEA and the International Atomic Energy Agency, said global uranium production currently stands at around 60,000 tonnes per year. Projections indicate this could rise to approximately 100,000 tonnes by mid-century.

This growth is being driven by new reactor construction, life extensions of existing nuclear plants and rapidly rising electricity demand from data centres, artificial intelligence and wider electrification.