// definition
SWU
Separative Work Unit
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Short definition
The unit measuring the enrichment effort needed to raise the uranium-235 content. The enrichment market is counted in SWU; Russia concentrates a large share of world capacity.
risk atlas
Knowledge map
Intuition
The SWU measures the industrial effort that separates isotopes. It is the true language of the enrichment bottleneck.
Formula
SWU need = target enrichment + fuel quantity + tails assayWhy it matters now
The concentration of enrichment capacity makes the geopolitical risk sharper than the ore price alone.
Related analyses
- Uranium: deficit and hidden bottlenecksMining, conversion, enrichment, HALEU and AI demand.
Related guides
- Reading the uranium marketFrom ore to reactor: contracts, conversion and enrichment.
Related datasets
- risk.jsonPublic snapshot of the risk signals.
- signals/history.jsonPoint-in-time history of the signals.
- risk-diff.json1, 7 and 30-day diff of signals, sources and models.
- evidence-graph.jsonClaims, evidence and their sources as a graph.
Signals using it
- Energy MonitorMethodology of the energy stress signal.
- Risk DiffRecent change in risk and source freshness.
Primary sources
- U.S. Energy Information AdministrationOil, gas, inventories, production and the Short-Term Energy Outlook.
- Commodity Futures Trading CommissionFutures positioning through the Commitments of Traders.
- World Bank Open Data & OECD DataMacro comparables and commodity prices.