The UAE has awarded $ 3 billion worth of contracts to six international firms to procure fuel for its nuclear power plants, expected to start up by 2017.

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) achieved another milestone on Wednesday towards an ambitious nuclear energy programme by announcing the results of the tenders, which it floated for the nuclear fuel procurement in July in order to create a strategy to cover supply for the first 15 years of operations.

The contracts cover three areas including purchase of natural uranium concentrates; its conversion into material ready for enrichment; enrichment services in which the material is enriched to a level that is used in the fuel for nuclear energy plants and purchase of enriched uranium product.

The enriched uranium will be supplied to Kepco Nuclear Fuels (KNF), a part of Kepco which will manufacture the fuel assemblies for use in the four power plants.

Starting in 2014-2015, a total of six leading companies in the nuclear fuel supply industry will participate in the ENEC fuel supply programme. US-based ConverDyn will provide conversion services; Uranium One from Canada will provide natural uranium, UK-based Urenco will provide enrichment services; and Rio Tinto will provide natural uranium.

Tenex from Russia will supply uranium concentrates, conversion services and enrichment services.

France’s Areva will provide uranium concentrates, conversion services and enrichment services.

The contracted fuel will enable the Barakah plant to generate up to 450 million MWh for a period of 15 years starting in 2017, when the first nuclear energy unit is scheduled to begin generating safe, clean, reliable and efficient electricity to the UAE.

“These contracts will provide ENEC with long-term security of supply, high quality fuel and favorable pricing and commercial terms,” said Mohamed Al Hammadi ENEC’s chief executive officer.

“The completion of the fuel supply strategy is a key achievement to ENEC’s programme,” he said.

The fuel procurement strategy is guided by the UAE’s support for international non-proliferation efforts. That support was detailed in a nuclear energy policy document released by the government in April 2008 that outlined a series of commitments, including the decision to forgo domestic enrichment and reprocessing of nuclear fuel.

“The procurement process was the result of an extensive year-long process that included initial discussions between ENEC and international nuclear fuel suppliers,” an ENEC Press release said.

ENEC said it expected to return to the market at various times to take advantage of favourable market conditions and to strengthen its security of supply position. ENEC is building four 1,400-MW nuclear energy units at Barakah, in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, to fuel the economic growth of the UAE.

Last month, ENEC received regulatory approval from both the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi and the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation for the construction of the first two nuclear energy units in Barakah.

The first unit is scheduled to begin delivering electricity to the grid in 2017. The remaining three units are scheduled to come on line in 2018, 2019 and 2020.