News
Small and advanced reactors feature in UK Government announcement on net zero transition
18 November 2020
There was positive news in yesterday’s UK Government’s £12bn Ten Point Plan for realising net zero targets by 2050, with recognition of the valuable role of nuclear and investment in small and advanced reactors.
Including around £4bn of new funding on top of funds already announced, the plan dedicates £525m to nuclear to scale up large nuclear generation while also developing small and advanced reactors, and we look forward to seeing the detail, which will be in the forthcoming Energy White Paper.
Also of note is that £500m will be invested to generate 5GW of “low-carbon” hydrogen production capacity by 2030.
Further sums are focused on offshore wind, decarbonising transportation and heating and enhancing carbon capture and storage.
The plan, which comes ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow next year, also has a focus on “levelling up” all areas of the country, including such areas as Merseyside.
Steve Threlfall, U-Battery’s General Manager, said: “This is another sign of a strong commitment from the UK Government to achieving net zero and advanced and small nuclear reactors being a key part of the solution.
“U-Battery has a lot to offer and earlier this year was successful in receiving further funding towards its development in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) competition.
“Our AMR can make a significant contribution to decarbonising sectors which it is difficult to assist by other means, such as the UK’s Foundation Industries. Being developed in the North of England in Cheshire, it is also a highly versatile technology that can be deployed for other beneficial uses, such as the production of hydrogen through the copper chlorine process.
“We look forward to further announcements from the UK government on the Green Industrial Revolution and demonstrating U-Battery’s contribution as its development progresses.”
Read the full UK Government announcement
About U-Battery
U-Battery is an advanced/small modular reactor, capable of providing a low-carbon, cost-effective, locally embedded and reliable source of power and heat for energy intensive industry and remote locations. It is being developed by Urenco in collaboration with a number of supporting organisations and has received funding from the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's Energy Innovation Portfolio.
