« Le Kazakhstan avance vers une énergie nucléaire sûre et fiable », déclare Asset Makhambetov
Alors que l'énergie nucléaire connaît un regain d'intérêt mondial, le Kazakhstan se positionne au centre de ce changement. Une stratégie expliquée par Asset Makhambetov, vice-président de l'Agence pour l'énergie atomique.
00:30Welcome to EastWestConnect. We're highlighting business and economic opportunities in Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asia region connecting with Europe and beyond. Kazakhstan's first nuclear plant will feature two Generation 3 Plus pressurized water reactors designed by Rosatom with a combined capacity of 2.4 GW. Here to discuss the country's nuclear strategy is Osset Mohambetov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Kazakhstan's Agency for Atomic Energy.
00:56Mr. Mohambetov, welcome.
01:00Thank you for having me today.
01:02How do you see Kazakhstan's role in shaping Central Asia's nuclear future and ensuring energy security?
01:08First of all, some of the Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan already producing natural uranium in significant amounts. And second of all, few of the Central Asian countries are planning to build their first nuclear power plants. In this way, overall, the Central Asian countries are moving towards the safe and reliable electricity provided by nuclear power plants. And Kazakhstan is no exception.
01:33Kazakhstan is building its first nuclear power plant near its most populous region. Are there any safety mechanisms in place? And what about nuclear waste?
01:42First of all, we're not building yet. We're right now focusing on the site selection works, which started just in August of 2025. And based on that work, we will select the best suitable site in the region.
01:56Second of all, the technology that we selected already have all the passive and active safety systems that's needed to ensure safe and reliable operation of reactor. And plus, it has all the lessons learned from accidents like Fukushima and Chernobyl.
02:14So that kind of accidents won't happen in the future. In terms of the radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel management, Kazakhstan already has the experience to deal with, to manage those kinds of waste.
02:28And overall, we're working with a vendor in ways how to minimize the radioactive waste that will be produced in a nuclear power plant.
02:41So Kazakhstan plans to develop nuclear research cities in Abai and Almaty regions. What role would these hubs play in advancing Kazakhstan's nuclear cluster?
02:51Kazakhstan already have big two research centers, one being Institute of Nuclear Physics, which locates in Almaty, and the second one being National Nuclear Center in Abai Oblast near Kurchatov city.
03:04Both centers produce a lot of reliable research activities. Just for example, last year, Institute of Nuclear Physics started exporting radio pharmaceuticals being radio isotopes of Technetium-99 to Kyrgyz Republic.
03:21That was done with the help of International Atomic Energy Agency. Right now, we are developing the long-term strategy for nuclear industry development of Kazakhstan.
03:33up to 2050. And there, we are including the further development of those centers. And the main focus being the research in peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
03:48Mr. Mohambetov, thank you so much for being with us.
03:50Thank you.
03:53Kazakhstan is also home to the world's low-enriched Uranium Bank, a physical reserve supporting peaceful nuclear power programs.
04:00Euronews has the story.
04:04Located at Kazatomprom's Ulbai Metallurgical Plant, the low-enriched Uranium Bank serves as a global safeguard, providing reactor-grade uranium in case of supply disruptions.
04:13Operational since 2019 and managed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, it stores 90 tons of uranium hexafluoride supplied by Kazakhstan and France, which remains untouched to date.
04:24The traditional fund on the territory of the base is located at the top of the base.
04:29The safety of the process of maintaining low-enriched Uranium is provided by a number of organizational and technical activities, including any harmful impact on the environment.
04:42With six decades of experience in civil nuclear fuel supply, Kazakhstan now exports low-enriched fuel assemblies produced at the Ulbai Metallurgical Plants to nuclear power plants in China.
04:53Last year, Ulbai reached its full annual production capacity of 200 tons.
04:57From uranium mining to fuel production, Kazakhstan is strengthening its position as a reliable global supplier and a key player in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
05:16Kazakhstan's uranium production topped 60 million pounds last year. Producing roughly one-fifth of the world's uranium, Kazatomprom leads the sector.
05:29Mr. Yusupov, welcome.
05:30Thank you for having me today.
05:32How does Kazatomprom plan on strengthening its global position in the uranium industry amid rising competition and shifting geopolitics?
05:41Kazatomprom is the largest uranium producer globally. We are playing an important role in global clean energy security.
05:50And we position ourselves as a reliable and predictable partner. Right now, we are focusing on geological exploration to enhance our resource base.
06:01But at the same time, we are looking into other opportunities in other stages of nuclear fuel cycle if we see economic viability in those projects.
06:14How do you view the uranium market outlook, given that your company plans to scale back on production by 10% next year?
06:22So, 2026 production numbers are subject to our discussions with our JV partners and overall market considerations.
06:32We are sticking to our value over volume strategy. We see that there is increasing interest in nuclear energy, given the pledge by more than 20 countries to triple their nuclear capacity by 2050.
06:47Many new bills of nuclear power plants are being announced globally.
06:53There is increasing demand for energy by big tech and increasing AI.
06:58And also, a lot of analysts are forecasting structural deficit of uranium in the next decade.
07:04So, we see very strong market fundamentals for uranium.
07:08And our outlook is very positive on those dynamics.
07:14How sustainable is your in-situ recovery method and what innovations are you pursuing to reduce the environmental impact?
07:21Well, unlike traditional open-pit or underground mining, in case of in-situ recovery, we actually do not move a lot of ground.
07:33We are sending this solution into the subsoil and then pump it out, transferred to processing center, and all this circulates in a closed-loop system.
07:45So, there is very little environmental impact.
07:48Mr. Yusupov, thank you so much for your time today.
07:50Thank you for having me today.
07:52That's all for now. See you in the next episode of Visa Plus Connect.
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