Abstract

Historical research into the nuclear industry has focussed upon military and commercial aspects of the technology whilst ignoring fuel. This article discusses nuclear fuel, the resource at the centre of the industry and the role superpower politics played in its supply. Starting with the context of superpower competition, we examine the spread of nuclear technology from its beginnings in post-war Britain via West Germany in the 1950s to Finland in the 1960s and 1970s. We demonstrate that each country had varied interests affecting the choice of nuclear fuel for early energy projects; British fuel choices were constrained by its weapons programme and Germany needed legitimacy in the face of opposition in the 1950s. Finland was constrained by ‘Finlandisation’ and despite domestic enthusiasm the country had to balancing competing blocs in its choice of reactor and fuel. In short, fuel choices were constrained by local and supranational geopolitical conditions.

摘要

对核工业的历史研究集中在技术的军事和商业方面，而忽略了燃料。本文讨论了核燃料、该行业的核心资源以及超级大国政治在其供应中所起的作用。从超级大国竞争的背景开始，我们考察了核技术从战后英国的传播，经过 1950 年代的西德，到 1960 年代和 1970 年代的芬兰。我们证明，每个国家都有不同的利益影响早期能源项目的核燃料选择；英国的燃料选择受到其武器计划的限制，而德国在 1950 年代面临反对时需要合法性。芬兰受到“芬兰化”的限制，尽管国内热情高涨，但该国不得不在选择反应堆和燃料时平衡竞争集团。简而言之，燃料选择受到当地和超国家地缘政治条件的限制。