Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Supported by NexGen
As AI drives a surge in electricity demand, attention is turning to the fuels needed to generate reliable, clean nuclear energy. Nuclear fuel comes from primary production (mines) and secondary supplies (recycled and military material), but uranium enrichment remains a strategic chokepoint. Kazakhstan, Canada and Namibia are currently the world’s three biggest uranium producers and Russia has nearly half of global uranium enrichment capacity. If nuclear energy is to help power the AI age, enriched uranium is likely to become an even more important strategic asset. How will the spread of AI affect the nuclear-fuel supply chain from mining to enrichment? What will this mean for investment, and for the countries competing to secure fuel for both energy and technological advantage?
Moderator: Vijay Vaitheeswaran, global energy & climate innovation editor, The Economist
Monica Kras, vice-president, corporate development, NexGen
Supported by NexGen
As AI drives a surge in electricity demand, attention is turning to the fuels needed to generate reliable, clean nuclear energy. Nuclear fuel comes from primary production (mines) and secondary supplies (recycled and military material), but uranium enrichment remains a strategic chokepoint. Kazakhstan, Canada and Namibia are currently the world’s three biggest uranium producers and Russia has nearly half of global uranium enrichment capacity. If nuclear energy is to help power the AI age, enriched uranium is likely to become an even more important strategic asset. How will the spread of AI affect the nuclear-fuel supply chain from mining to enrichment? What will this mean for investment, and for the countries competing to secure fuel for both energy and technological advantage?
Moderator: Vijay Vaitheeswaran, global energy & climate innovation editor, The Economist
Monica Kras, vice-president, corporate development, NexGen
