Inevitable, eventually.
Mini-nukes must be built using British factories,say MPsForeign companies should be forced touse domestic suppliers, Government urged
ByMatt Oliver17 November 2023 • 6:00am
A small modular reactor model byRolls-Royce, which is one of six companies competing for Great British Nuclearfunding CREDIT: Rolls-Royce
Foreign companies that sell mini nuclear reactors to Britain should be forced to use local suppliers to build them here in a boost for industry, a group of MPs has said.
A report by the all-party parliamentary group(APPG) on nuclear energy today urges the Government to require developers touse domestic supply chains when building small modular reactors (SMRs).
This would mean “even foreign SMR designs areeffectively made by British industry”, thereby helping to revitalise thecountry’s sovereign capabilities and creating jobs.
Ian Liddell-Grainger, Tory MP for Bridgwater andWest Somerset, and chairman of the APPG, said: “Ramping up nuclear capacity tothe levels needed for energy security and net zero will require a monumentaleffort from government and industry.
“We must seize this opportunity so we can deliveron clean power, energy security and good, green jobs for our country.”
The Government has set a target of generating about24 gigawatts of power, or one quarter of Britain’s electricity needs, fromnuclear by 2050. That is equivalent to the output of as many as eight reactors.
At present, only two are underconstruction at the Hinkley Point C power station in Somerset, with another two planned in the Sizewell C scheme in Suffolk. Another project could be built at Wylfa, in Anglesey.
One of the two nuclear reactors beingbuilt at Hinkley Point C nuclear power station CREDIT: Daniel Leal/AFP
Meanwhile, almost all of the country’s existingreactors – except those at Sizewell B – are scheduled to come offline by theend of this decade.
SMRs are seen as advantageous because they could intheory be factory-produced in sections and then assembled on site, saving timeand money compared to bigger projects.
Great British Nuclear, the publicbody set up to prepare the ground for mini reactors, has shortlisted six companies in a competition for funding, including Derby-based Rolls-Royce and others from abroad such as General Electric, EDF, NuScale and Westinghouse.
MPs on the APPG said that regardless of whichcompanies succeed in the selection process, ministers should impose conditionson development that “maximise the UK content of any new nuclear programme”.
They argued that the SMR programme could be used tohelp rebuild the UK’s domestic nuclear manufacturing capabilities, takinginspiration from a strategy used by South Korea.
The APPG report said: “The UK could once makereactor pressure vessels, coolant circulators, boilers and turbines for nuclearpower stations. We cannot do any of that today, but we could again.
“To justify the major investment in plant andequipment required, the UK Government must insist that UK content is maximisedand then place orders to facilitate that.”
They pointed to the UK’s existingnuclear fuel supply chain as one way British manufacturers could become involved early in theprocess. The Ministry of Defence-owned Sheffield Forgemasters could also become a supplier of reactor pressure vessels.
The APPG report pointed to the example of SouthKorea, which since the 1970s has built up its domestic nuclear power industryby ordering American, French and Canadian reactor designs and thencollaborating to develop its own local skills and technologies.
South Korea also ensured that it continued to buildso that skills and supply chains were retained over time and greaterefficiencies could be achieved through repeat-use of designs, MPs added.
It suggests that Great British Nuclear shouldeventually standardise the best SMR design, helping to concentrate investmentand ramp up development.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zerospokesman said: “Great British Nuclear will help us achieve our ambitionto provide up to a quarter of the UK’s electricity from homegrown nuclearenergy by 2050, boosting our energy security, reducing dependence on volatilefossil fuel imports and generating around £6bn for the UK economy.
“We will consult later this year on a proposed wayforward for determining how new nuclear developments might be located,including the potential for SMR and other advanced nuclear technologies.”
