Το Καζακστάν επιταχύνει τις πυρηνικές φιλοδοξίες με νέα εργοστάσια και ερευνητικούς κόμβους
Καθώς η πυρηνική ενέργεια επιστρέφει παγκοσμίως, το Καζακστάν τοποθετείται στο κέντρο της αλλαγής - μια στρατηγική που εξήγησε ο Asset Makhambetov, αναπληρωτής πρόεδρος του Οργανισμού Ατομικής Ενέργειας.
00:30Welcome to EastWestConnect. We're highlighting business and economic opportunities in Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asia region, connecting with Europe and beyond.
00:39Kazakhstan's first nuclear plant will feature two Generation 3-plus pressurized water reactors designed by Rosatom with a combined capacity of 2.4 GW.
00:48Here to discuss the country's nuclear strategy is Aset 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.
01:17And second of all, a few of the Central Asian countries are planning to build their first nuclear power plants.
01:24In this way, overall, all the Central Asian countries are moving towards the safe and reliable electricity provided by nuclear power plants.
01:32And Kazakhstan is no exception.
01:33Kazakhstan is building its first nuclear power plant near its most populous region.
01:38Are there any safety mechanisms in place? And what about nuclear waste?
01:42First of all, we're not building yet.
01:45We're right now focusing on the site selection works, which started just in August of 2025.
01:52And 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.
02:09And plus, it has all the lessons learned from accidents like Fukushima and Chernobyl.
02:15So that kind of accidents won't happen in the future.
02:17In terms of the radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel management, Kazakhstan already has the experience to deal with, to manage those kind of waste.
02:29And 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.
02:46What role would these hubs play in advancing Kazakhstan's nuclear cluster?
02:51Kazakhstan already has big two research centers.
02:54One being Institute of Nuclear Physics, which locates in Almaty.
02:58And the second one being National Nuclear Center in Abai Oblast near Kurchatov City.
03:03Both centers produce a lot of reliable research activities.
03:11Just 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.
03:24Right now, we are developing the long-term strategy for nuclear industry development of Kazakhstan up to 2050.
03:35And there, we are including the further development of those centers.
03:41And 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.
03:50Kazakhstan 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 Ulybai Metallurgical Plant, the low-enriched uranium bank serves as a global safeguard,
04:10providing reactor-grade uranium in case of supply disruptions.
04:13Operational since 2019 and managed by the International Atomic Energy Agency,
04:18it stores 90 tons of uranium hexafluoride supplied by Kazakhstan and France, which remains untouched to date.
04:25Radiation fonds on the territory of Sklada is at the top of the territory of Sklada.
04:30The safety of the process of maintaining low-enriched uranium is provided by many organizational and technical activities,
04:38including any harmful impact on the environment.
04:41With six decades of experience in civil nuclear fuel supply, Kazakhstan now exports low-enriched fuel assemblies
04:48produced at the Ulybai Metallurgical Plants to nuclear power plants in China.
04:53Last year, Ulybai 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
05:12and a key player in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
05:18Kazakhstan's uranium production topped 60 million pounds last year.
05:23Producing roughly one-fifth of the world's uranium, Kazatomprom leads the sector.
05:27Mr. Yusupov, welcome.
05:30Thank you for having me today.
05:32How does Kazatomprom plan on strengthening its global position in the uranium industry
05:37amid rising competition and shifting geopolitics?
05:41Kazatomprom is the largest uranium producer globally.
05:45We are playing an important role in global clean energy security.
05:50And we position ourselves as a reliable and predictable partner.
05:55Right now, we are focusing on geological exploration to enhance our resource base.
06:02But at the same time, we are looking into other opportunities in other stages of nuclear fuel cycle
06:11if 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
06:28and overall market considerations.
06:32We are sticking to our value-over-volume strategy.
06:37We see that there is increasing interest in nuclear energy,
06:41given the pledge by more than 20 countries to triple their nuclear capacity by 2050.
06:46Many 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.
07:13How sustainable is your in-situ recovery method?
07:17And what innovations are you pursuing to reduce the environmental impact?
07:22Well, unlike traditional open pit or underground mining,
07:27in case of in-situ recovery, we actually do not move a lot of ground.
07:33We are sending this solution into the subsoil
07:37and then pump it out, transfer to processing center.
07:41And 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.
07:54That's all for now.
07:55See you in the next episode of Visa Plus Connect.
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