What is Uranium?
Uranium is a radioactive, heavy metal element found naturally in the Earth’s crust, represented by the symbol U on the periodic table with atomic number 92. It’s best known in the nuclear energy sector for its use as fuel in nuclear power plants and its role in the production of nuclear weapons due to its ability to undergo fission, the splitting of the atom.
What is Uranium used for and why is it important?
Uranium plays a significant role in the global energy sector as the primary fuel used in nuclear power plants, which supply a substantial portion of the world’s electricity, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and helping combat climate change. Uranium is vital due to its unique nuclear properties, primarily its ability to undergo fission, which releases a considerable amount of energy. This energy is harnessed in nuclear power plants to generate electricity, providing a significant source of low-carbon power.
Additionally, enriched uranium is used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons due to its large energy release when fission occurs. The medical field also benefits from uranium-derived isotopes, used in cancer treatments and medical imaging.
Uranium is key to a net-zero carbon future
Nuclear power generation
Uranium is primarily used in nuclear power plants as the fuel input for electricity production. Nuclear energy is an incredibly safe and low-carbon source of electricity which already powers a substantial portion of our planet. Uranium fuel generates a tremendous amount of heat energy when the atoms of the uranium are split in a process called nuclear fission. The heat from the fission reaction turns water into steam. That steam moves turbines to produce safe, sustainable, clean energy.
Energy efficiency
Uranium possesses remarkable energy density, allowing a small quantity to produce substantial energy output. When you compare uranium energy efficiency to traditional fossil fuel like coal, oil and natural gas, uranium is drastically more efficient in its energy output by volume.
Reduced carbon emissions
Nuclear power plants do not produce significantly measurable direct greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the carbon footprints of nations who are able to generate nuclear energy. This means that nuclear energy utilization and production is vital to climate change mitigation plans locally, regionally and globally. Lower carbon emissions are essential to reducing pollution and its impact on human, animal and environmental health.
Energy security
The entire world deserves reliable, clean, and sustainable energy. The dwindling availability of fossil fuel is escalating geopolitical turbulence and discord. The use of uranium and implementation of nuclear power disrupts the cycle of unclean energy production, and offers an alternative to the conflicts provoked by fossil fuel-based scarcity.