Towards a Sustainable Front-End of Nuclear Energy Systems

Abstract

This report discusses some fundamental sustainability aspects of nuclear energy systems. Sustainability is used here in a broad sense, encompassing economic as well as environmental aspects. As all raw materials, uranium as resource is available in limited quantities only, although it is by no means scarce in terms of abundance in the earth¿s crust. What can be called a resource is determined by the energy investment that is required to recover it. On one hand this is a simple economic consideration, but on the other hand any energy expenditure has environmental impacts associated with it, including the emission of greenhouse gases. An additional aspect is the relationship between energy investment and net energy gain that may become unfavourable as deeper resources and more refractive uranium mineralisation will have to be exploited. The report outlines the data needs for a more quantitative and long-term strategic assessment of the availability of uranium as fuel in nuclear energy systems.