Agreement is for reactors at Beznau and Leibstadt and is first of kind between two countries
Swiss nuclear operating utility Axpo has signed new uranium supply contracts for its Beoznau and Leibstadt nuclear power stations in an effort to diversify its fuel supply chain away from Russia, the Swiss company said in a statement.
According to the statement, new natural uranium supply contracts have been signed with Kazakhstan because Russian companies will no longer supply uranium to Axpo. Contracts have also been signed with Canada, Axpo said.
Axpo said that after the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the company decided not to enter into any new contracts with Russian suppliers and to terminate existing ones if possible.
The company’s nuclear fuel strategy was fundamentally revised with the aim of diversifying suppliers and eliminating Russian suppliers throughout the entire supply chain, Axpo said.
Kazakhstan’s national nuclear corporation Kazatomprom said in a separate statement that it had signed a contract for the supply of natural uranium concentrates for the Beznau and Leibstadt nuclear power stations.
Kazatomprom said this was the first-ever contract signed in the Alpine country.
Bruno Zimmermann, head of nuclear fuel at Axpo said: “The signing of a contract with Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, is of strategic importance for Axpo as we continue to diversify and secure our fuel supplies.”
Axpo said uranium will be further processed into reactor fuel in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.
The company also said the first deliveries under the new contracts will take place from 2026. The fuel supply to Leibstadt and Beznau has not depended on Russian supply since 2022 thanks to fuel reserve stocks onsite.
There are two nuclear units at Beznau and one at Leibstadt. Switzerland has a fleet of four reactors that provide about 32% of its electricity generation. In December, Axpo announced plans to invest about $400m (€382m) to enable Beznau to operate until 2033.
The Beznau units are the oldest of Switzerland’s operating nuclear power plants. Unit 1 has been in commercial operation since 1969 and Unit 2 since 1972.
