THORIUM AS AN ENERGY SOURCE - Opportunities for Norway ...

Thorium as an Energy Source - Opportunities for Norway
Million Tonnes Natural Uranium
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5
4
3
2
1
Cumulative Natural Uranium Demand and Resource Levels
0
0
2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
Resources (US$80/kgU) Resources (US$130/kgU) Nat. U demand (Million t U)
Figure 2.11: Cumulative Natural Uranium Demand and Resource Levels
(Case: Continued Nuclear Growth).
(Source: Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), Nuclear Power and Climate Change)
Under the assumption that nuclear power would substitute for a mix of fossil fuelled power plants
emitting 800 gCO2/kWh, which is an average value for the existing energy mix, the cumulated
reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions to the atmosphere will be about 100 GtCO2 in 2030 (see
Figure 2.11).
The price of nuclear fuel for electricity production is influenced by many steps in the production
process. The uranium mines produce U3O8 (Yellow Cake) that has to be converted to UF6 which is
the chemical form needed for the enrichment process of U-235. The conversion price is the
processing cost to convert the Yellow Cake to UF6 (given in US$/kg UF6). After conversion to UF6,
the U-235 content must be increased in the enrichment process. This process has a unity cost
(Separative Work Unit, SWU) depending on the required enrichment in the fuel and on the U-235
content in the tails (depleted uranium).
To produce 1 kg uranium with 4 weight percent (wt%) of U-235 requires 7.4 kg natural uranium
and 8.4 Separative Work Units for the enrichment process. The spot price history of uranium is
shown in Figure 2.12. Only a small part (maybe 5 – 10 %) of uranium consumed is traded at this
spot price and the rest by bilateral contracts.
18
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
GtCO 2 Equivalent