8 Aug (NucNet): The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has pledged 10 million US dollars (USD) (6 million euro) towards a fuel bank proposal originally launched by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) in 2006.
The UAE commitment was presented to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Mohamed ElBaradei on 1 August by Mr Hamad Al Kaabi, UAE special representative for international nuclear cooperation.
The NTI plan calls for a dedicated low-enriched uranium (LEU) stockpile to be owned and administered by the IAEA. The stockpile would aim to provide states with assurances of nuclear fuel supply and would seek to address potential disruptions of fuel shipments for power reactors.
Previous contributions for the NTI fuel bank plan include:
• An initial USD 50 million donation made by NTI advisor Warren Buffett in September 2006, which was contingent on one or more states contributing an additional USD 100 million in funding or an equivalent value of low-enriched uranium to establish the reserve. Mr Buffett’s donation also called for the matching USD 100 million commitment to be made by September 2008, but the deadline has now been extended to September 2009;
• A December 2007 funding allocation of USD 50 million made by the US;
• A USD 5 million pledge announced by Norway in February 2008.
The UAE funding announcement brings the total committed amount for a nuclear fuel bank to USD 115 million, leaving a remaining USD 35 million to be raised.
The NTI proposal of an LEU fuel bank to be placed under IAEA auspices is one among several multilateral nuclear approaches currently under consideration, including one by the Russian Federation to set up an LEU reserve under IAEA auspices in Russia.
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
Businessman Pledges Cash To Help Launch World Nuclear Fuel Reserve (News No. 201, 19 September 2006)
House Approves USD 50 Million To Help Set Up International Fuel Bank (World Nuclear Review No. 25, 22 June 2007)
Norway Pledges USD 5 Million For International Fuel Bank Initiative (World Nuclear Review No. 9, 29 February 2008)
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