Kazakhstan’s national uranium company, Kazatomprom, announced on January 6 that its Kazakh-Chinese joint venture, Ulba-FA LLP, achieved its design capacity of producing 200 tons of low-enriched uranium in the form of fuel assemblies by the end of 2024.
Ulba-FA is the only fuel production facility for nuclear power plants in Central Asia. The joint venture is a collaboration between Kazatomprom, represented by its subsidiary Ulba Metallurgical Plant, and China General Nuclear Power Corporation.
Since commencing operations in November 2021, Ulba-FA has gradually ramped up production, reaching its design capacity within three years. The 200 tons of nuclear fuel produced in 2024 are sufficient to reload six nuclear reactors.
Supplying China’s Nuclear Power Plants
All fuel assemblies produced at the Ulba-FA plant are currently supplied to nuclear power plants in China, underscoring the strategic partnership between the two nations in the nuclear energy sector.
China and Russia remain the largest importers of Kazakh uranium. Between January and October 2023, Kazakhstan exported $2.46 billion worth of uranium, with $922.7 million directed to China and $1.2 billion to Russia.
Kazatomprom solidified its position as the world’s largest uranium producer in 2023, accounting for approximately 20% of global primary uranium production.
