The Expanding Global Nuclear Market

All across the board we are seeing the nuclear haves either embracing each other, or embracing the nuclear have nots. In the latter category, think France (mainly with north African and Middle Eastern states). In the former think French companies seeking to buy British nuke plants and others thinking of setting up a Uranium Enrichment plant in the US. The widely publicized, and now stalled, US-India nuclear deal also falls into this category.

Now we have a US-Russia nuclear deal. (News Story Here). Which is quite interesting really, and not just for the geopolitical implications. As Nuclear Notes points out above, it's more about markets really. The American market for Russian Uranium. Hopefully the NRC will be able to certify the new Russian designs for the US market in a decent amount of time. US access to Russian uranium has been going on for a while, but mostly in the form of blended down Russian nuclear weapon warheads.

A more important sign of growth is that the Japanese corporation that produces reactor vessels has a 3 year waiting list.

As I posted about a few days ago, mining requests in the US have dramatically increased. Kazakhstan, the country with the top supply of uranium is also ramping up production.

The market is hot hot hot!

Side Notes:
-What kind of impact is the nuclear boom having on 'rogue scientists'. That has been one of the largest concerns post Cold War about nuclear proliferation, unemployed scientists going to work for the bad guys. Shouldn't they be in high demand now as numerous countries across the world (most recently Vietnam) are moving towards nukes.

-A similar question arises for nuclear material. But I think this is minimized by market forces. Sure there is going to be more of it flying and moving around the globe. But the very act of moving means it is being observed and has both a buyer and seller involved. It is now economically sound for countries to find and contain nuclear weapons material. Where as 10 years ago, it was simply a drain on resources.

-How quickly is the NSG and the US' GNEP program expanding? It looks like the US is taking the initiatives to create frameworks that can be adopted and joined by those willing to participate. They lose some freedom because the groups have rules, but those states that participate gain access to huge markets, technology, resources and expertise.

UPDATE:
Here is some more on the topic.

An article on the nuclear ambition of the Middle East.