The New Nuclear Race.

The term “Nuclear Race” has a different meaning today than it had in the past. During the Cold War, the nature of international relations was shaped by geopolitics. That meant that the major powers of the world strived to obtain political control of as much geographical area as possible. A significant tool for this objective was nuclear deterrence. Both global power centers i.e., USA and the Soviets used their arsenal of nuclear weapons to implicitly threaten other states into compliance. Therefore, the basis for power lay in weaponized nuclear capabilities.

With the advent of Globalization, however, there was a gradual shift in the nature of international relations from geopolitics to geoeconomics. This meant that control of the world now depended on control of economic resources. The parameters of power shifted from possessing the most advanced weaponry to possessing control of major industries, economic policymaking, and energy resources.

In all this, gaining control of energy resources was the most crucial. The increasingly globalized world cannot survive without energy. It powers industries, fuels cross-border trade and travel and is essentially the sole resource which governs every aspect of our life. This surge in the importance of energy made it an invaluable resources. And gaining control over this resource became the foundation of power and a source of conflict. We were entering into an era of energy wars.

After WWII, America took steps to take control of the source of energy that ran the world: oil. From dominating the oil market with companies like ARAMCO, EXXON, etc. to establishing diplomatic relations with oil giants like Saudi Arabia to allegedly even going to war with countries like Iraq with the implicit objective of taking control over their oil reserves. USA realized that the foundation of power lay in energy and it was going to stop at nothing to get it. The USA did gain control of the major energy resource of the world and enjoyed the power that comes along with it for a long time. Until now.

With increasing awareness of climate change, the world is getting increasingly aversive of the usage of oil for energy due to its massive carbon footprint. Instead, the prospect of shifting entirely towards renewable energy resources is increasing. This can be solar, wind, nuclear energy etc. This not only diminishes the power associated with oil but also can potentially shift the center of power to the renewable energy source that becomes most prolific. Nuclear energy seems to be the most likely candidate. In the future, it seems that whoever monopolizes nuclear energy will likely control the international arena. The three big players USA, China and Russia realized this and have already taken steps. The race for the control of nuclear energy has already started. This is the new “Nuclear Race”.

Why is Nuclear the most hyped renewable energy source?

Nuclear is envisaged to be the element of power in the future. It is prioritized over other energy sources for multiple reasons. First, nuclear fuel has high energy density. A single 1-inch-tall pellet of nuclear fuel can produce the same amount of energy as 1 ton of coal, 564 liters of oil or 17000 cubic-feet of gas. Second, it is a low carbon source. Carbon emissions are almost next to zero in the production of energy through nuclear fuel. Third, nuclear energy plants take up a significantly less amount of space than other renewable energy sources. It takes 360 times less space than wind farms and 75 times less space than solar plants. And finally, nuclear fuel produces consistent energy supply whereas the energy produced by wind and solar resources is dependent on factors like wind speed, weather etc. All this makes nuclear the most efficient energy source amongst all renewable energy sources.

The Eastern bloc Winning the Nuclear Race

Nuclear energy is not only a lucrative energy source but also a potential pathway to dominating the global stage in the future. So, as the US did with oil in the late 1900s, the Eastern bloc is scrambling to gain control of it in this millennium. China and Russia have taken a very astute approach in solidifying their power position if nuclear was to be the leading energy source in the future.

To understand this, we must first that the nuclear energy chain consists of 5 stages: mining uranium, refining it, enrichment, manufacturing fuel pellets, electricity generation and finally, management of radioactive waste. The first three phases of this chain are absolutely essential and controlling them translates into control of the entire nuclear energy market.

Another important piece of information that needs to be kept in mind to understand the climb to victory of China and Russia is who has the Uranium? Kazakhstan tops the chart with having 43% of the global Uranium reserves. Canada follows with 15% and then Namibia at 11%.

According to world-nuclear.org, Russia has bought up to 50% stakes in five subsidiary companies of Kazatomprom, the biggest uranium mining company in the world. China also has stakes in two of Kazatomprom’s subsidiary companies of up to 49%. On the other hand, according to the Washington Post, all the active Uranium mining companies in Namibia are Chinese-owned. Therefore, China and Russia have dominated the mining stage to a major extent.

The world-nuclear.org also purports that China and Russia excel at refining stage as well with China providing 25% and Russia providing 38% of the global refining services.

The same report puts Russia at the top of the chart on countries having enrichment capacities. Russia dominates with possessing 46% of global enrichment capacity. China, France and the US follow at less than 13% each.

The monopolization of the 3 most crucial stages of nuclear energy production by the Eastern bloc rings alarm bells for the US. And with its ballooning debt, losing influence over long-term allies coupled with the revival of Russia and China’s increasing economic domination, things seem bleak for America. The threat to its world leader status is almost existential. The only question is: will the US find a way out or will we experience the fall of an empire?