Six companies’ designs for the next generation of nuclear reactors have been selected to progress in a UK government competition supporting the development of Small Modular Reactor technology. They are EDF, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy International LLC, Holtec Britain Ltd, NuScale Power, Rolls Royce SMR and Westinghouse Electric Company UK Ltd.
The government’s ambition is for a quarter of all the country’s electricity to come from nuclear power by 2050, and this competition could help bring about a revival of UK nuclear power. It hopes the UK can lead the global race to develop cutting edge technologies that can rapidly deliver cleaner, cheaper energy and greater energy security, and believes that SMRs could transform how nuclear power stations are built and result in billions of pounds of investment in the UK
The official line is that unlike conventional nuclear reactors that are built on site, SMRs are smaller, can be made in factories from modular sections and could transform how power stations are built by making construction faster and less expensive.
The designs chosen are considered by the government and Great British Nuclear – the government-backed body driving forward nuclear projects across the country – to be the most able to deliver operational SMRs by the mid-2030s. The next stage of the process, to be launched as soon as possible, will enable these companies to bid for government contracts. The aim is to announce in spring 2024 which of the 6 companies the government will support, with contracts awarded by Summer 2024.
Minister for Nuclear and Networks Andrew Bowie commented: This programme provides the blueprint for how the government can work together with industry to grow the economy and set the future of new, exciting nuclear technologies.”
The six successful companies will now be able to prepare for the next stages of the competition, aiming for a final contract agreement in the summer, potentially benefiting from significant support from the public purse.
For companies not successful in this initial process, the next opportunity could be the government’s consultation on alternative routes to market for nuclear technologies, an initiative due to be launched soon.
The government’s objective has been to select technologies which offer the best propect of a final investment decision in 2029, with units operational in the mid-2030s. It is set to consult later in the year on how best to ensure other nuclear technologies can potentially get underway in the UK – and this could include some of the technologies that were not selected through this process.
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