Western players in the nuclear industry are hoping the conflict between Ukraine and Russia could help push countries in Eastern Europe that rely on Russian gas to turn to atomic energy. Tensions between Russia and the West over the future of Ukraine is spurring the European Union to renew efforts to end decades of dependence on Russian gas, which accounts for about a third of the block supplies. The nuclear industry whose prospects were hit by the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011 has been keen to promote its advantages as a domestically produced source of clean energy by comparison with imported gas and polluting coal-fired plants. Delegates from the French nuclear industry are also keen to export reactors to central European countries such as Poland and Czech Republic. Moscow has in the past cut supplies to Ukraine when negotiating prices with Kiev, causing shortages for its customers further west especially in central Europe, which largely relies on Russian supplies to meet its demand. Britain went on to award a 19 billion euro contract last year to build the first nuclear plant in Europe since Fukushima to consult you made of EDF, Arriva and Chinese state-owned companies, GGM and CNNC.