UK to invest £300 million in creating nuclear fuel for next generation reactors

• 3 months ago (2024-01-08)
• David Flin

Europe 1061 Nuclear 640

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The UK Government has announced it will invest £300 million into creating specialist fuel for the next generation of nuclear reactors.

The Government funding will support domestic production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) – a fuel required by most advanced reactors and currently only commercially produced in Russia. Claire Coutinho, UK’s Energy Security Secretary, said Britain’s HALEU programme could supply reactor fuel to the rest of the world.

An additional £10 million will also be provided to develop the skills and sites to produce other advanced nuclear fuels in the UK, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). It hopes that, building on domestic capability in uranium enrichment and in fuel fabrication in northwest England, it will help to secure long-term domestic nuclear fuel supply and support international allies.