Cameco CEO touts trip to Dubai as success

Just like the Government of Saskatchewan, Cameco is also happy after a trip to an overseas climate conference.

“It was a success. It turned out better than anticipated,” Tim Gitzel, Cameco’s president and CEO, said after returning from the United Nations COP28 climate conference in Dubai.

“(There were) 75,000 people who showed up and the site was enormous,” the CEO said.

We had a surprise guest at our uranium fireside chat with Tim Gitzel, CEO of Cameco.

Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry @FP_Champagne stopped by the Saskatchewan pavilion and shared his thoughts while hearing from companies in our province who are driving… pic.twitter.com/cfylxD7KF1

— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) December 6, 2023

Gitzel said it was amazing to hear how the conversation surrounding nuclear energy has shifted over the last 18 months, and said there was real interest in Cameco at the conference. The CEO said it felt like his company had been moved up from the kids’ table to the head table.

“That’s really good news for nuclear, and we’re going to build on that. Cameco, with our combination with Westinghouse, we’re well positioned to take care of that,” Gitzel explained.

During his time in Dubai, Gitzel said he got to share Cameco’s vision with a large and diverse audience. He said he made a presentation explaining why the company decided to purchase Westinghouse Electric Co., which provides nuclear technology to utilities around the globe.

“I made a bit of a presentation on our thinking around why we decided to get (into nuclear). We’ve been in uranium and can do fuel business for our entire existence, and we had a chance a year ago to take a step further and put our chips in the middle and paid $8 billion U.S. along with Brookfield to acquire that company,” he stated.

“That deal looks even better than we first made it. There’s lots of interest.”

While the United Arab Emirates has no shortage of fossil fuels, Gitzel said the country is also exploring nuclear options to help create clean energy.

“The UAE is probably the biggest recent success story in nuclear. They’ve got oil and gas in abundance, but decided even they have to do something,” he said.

“They just built four new reactors with Westinghouse technology, and it’s a huge success story.”

Gitzel said he hopes the success from COP28 and the push for nuclear power will eventually lead to more jobs in Saskatchewan.

Cameco also recently announced a $1.8-million donation to support a number of community groups in the Saskatoon area, including the Meewasin Valley Authority and the Saskatoon YWCA.