Peaceful atom 2.0: the world's largest businessmen are again placing a premium on nuclear power plants

The global energy crisis is forcing governments and businesses of different countries to radically reconsider their attitude towards nuclear power plants, which, after a series of accidents, have found themselves in the corral. Media reports that the Finnish government is already trying to put nuclear power on the list of sustainable energy sources. Wind and solar have been approved by the EU as sustainable, but decisions on gas and nuclear power have yet to be taken.

Finland aims to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2035, while 30% of Finland's energy comes from nuclear power plants. Lobbying for nuclear energy as a sustainable source could be a watershed moment for the Green Party, which sits in the current five-party cabinet of ministers, which has traditionally been positioned as anti-nuclear.

However, by all appearances, the matter will not be limited to Finland. Experts from the RynkiDengiVlast channel believe that a shortage of uranium, the main raw material for the operation of nuclear power plants, may soon begin, since large investors have already purchased 30% of its annual consumption.

Over the next 5 years, due to the growing demand for uranium at nuclear power plants, the profits of its producers may grow 5 times.

Large investors expect uranium prices to rise for several reasons:

• The uranium miner and the nuclear power plant will renegotiate contracts at high prices. Most of the long-term contracts for the supply of uranium expire in 2022-2023.
• The status of nuclear energy is being restored: China will increase the volume of electricity generation at nuclear power plants by 40% by 2025, and interest in the topic will also grow in Japan.
• 57 nuclear power plants are under construction in the world, which will increase the annual consumption of uranium by another 16%.

According to experts, representatives of big business have long believed in uranium as the energy of the future.

Thus, one of the main investors in the American nuclear energy - Bill Gates - founded TerraPower, one of the largest start-ups in the field of nuclear innovation.

Together with Warren Buffett, they participate in the Natrium project, in which they plan to build a nuclear reactor. It will be cheaper, easier to install, and safer than traditional reactors.

Recently, Elon Musk also spoke out in support of nuclear energy. He is surprised at the negative public sentiment against the atom. Musk cited a study that showed that much of Germany's nuclear capacity after the Fukushima accident was replaced by coal-fired generation, which led to an increase in harmful emissions into the atmosphere. This, in turn, led to 1,100 new deaths annually.

Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal, has a long history of supporting nuclear power. “If we are serious about replacing fossil fuels, we need nuclear power, so the choice is clear: we can just keep talking about a carbon-free world, or we can go further and create it,” the businessman said. He has been investing in nuclear power since 2014.

“All this speaks about the interest of big investors in the nuclear energy sector, they see it as a big upside”, - the experts conclude.