The discussion about a longer service life for the remaining three German nuclear power plants is in full swing.

Other countries are also thinking about it or even about the construction of new nuclear power plants.

France does this, as does the Netherlands.

Contrary to what some people think, however, this does not lead to an independent energy supply.

Nuclear power plants also need raw materials for their operation.

And since the uranium required is not available either in the Lüneburg Heath or in the Black Forest, dependencies arise again, albeit different than with gas or oil.

Daniel Mohr

Editor in the economy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

  • Follow I follow

For example, France gets its uranium from mines in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Niger.

There are other large mines in Australia and Canada.

After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the price of uranium fell significantly.

Little money has been invested in new mines since then, as demand was hardly expected to increase.

Only the globally ambitious CO2 reduction targets gave reason to think about a renaissance of nuclear power.

While the unsolved problem of radioactive waste and the risk of reactor accidents remain, the advantage of low-carbon electricity generation is enticing.

The EU therefore wants to classify investments in nuclear power as sustainable.

There are no direct financial products for private investors

Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and the resulting energy supply with gas, oil and coal, which has become significantly less secure and more expensive, have led to a jump in the price of uranium.

Contracts for delivery in March 2023 rose from $43 a pound to $56.

Before Fukushima, prices in excess of 100 dollars were also paid.

There are no financial products for private investors directly based on the uranium price.

If you want to benefit from the price increases, you can buy funds and certificates.

Bank Vontobel just issued a new certificate with the identification number VX5TNQ in February.

In the course of the Ukraine war, the price increased from 100 to 136 euros and was recently 125 euros.

Investments will be made in 24 companies along the nuclear power value chain.

Société Générale also offers a certificate on a uranium index with 15 values ​​under WKN SH02Q8.

The Solactive Global Uranium & Nuclear Components Index, on which there is the Global-X-Uranium-ETF, is more widely spread with 45 companies.

In Canada there is also the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, which invests physically in uranium.

It is also possible to invest in large mining companies such as Cameco from Canada or the Kazakh world market leader Kazatomprom with the higher risk inherent in individual stocks.

The Yellow Cake Company specializes in the purchase and inventory of uranium.

Unlike these stocks, the large nuclear power plant operator Électricité de France has not benefited from the Ukraine war so far.

EDF has technical problems in some nuclear power plants, trouble with the competition authorities and high costs due to the French electricity price brake.

Do you have questions about money?

Please contact Daniel Mohr at fragdenmohr@faz.de