First Haleu production plant could be operational in early 2030s
The UK has announced plans to spend £300m (€348m, $380m) on a new programme to produce advanced nuclear fuel suitable for the next generation of reactors, seeking to dislodge Russia as the main international supplier.
The UK said its new investment would help support domestic production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (Haleu) – a type of fuel needed for many next-generation advanced reactors, but currently only produced on a commercial scale by Russia.
The first production plant is scheduled to be operational by the early 2030s in the northwest of England, the statement said.
Further details on production targets and how the money would be spent are due to be set out in a strategy paper.
“The UK will become the first country in Europe to launch a high-tech Haleu nuclear fuel programme, strengthening supply for new nuclear projects and driving [Russian president] Putin further out of global energy markets,” the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero said in a statement.
“The launch of the Haleu programme will enable the UK to supply the world with specialist nuclear fuel and further isolate Putin’s Russia,” the statement added.
It said an additional £10m will be provided to develop the skills and sites to produce other advanced nuclear fuels in the UK, helping to secure long term domestic nuclear fuel supply and support international allies.
The £300m investment is part of plans to help deliver up to 24 GW of clean, reliable nuclear power by 2050 – a quarter of the UK’s electricity needs and an increase from around 5.8 GW today.
‘Critical For Energy Security At Home And Abroad’
UK energy secretary Claire Coutinho said ministers would not allow Putin to “hold us to ransom on nuclear fuel”.
“Britain gave the world its first operational nuclear power plant, and now we will be the first nation in Europe outside of Russia to produce advanced nuclear fuel,” she said.
“This will be critical for energy security at home and abroad and builds on Britain’s historic competitive advantages.”
Like other European nations, the UK has sought to cut its energy reliance on Russia since Russia’s forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The UK was one of over 20 countries that recently signed a pledge to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 as part of international efforts to cut climate-damaging carbon emissions.
The European Union and US company Centrus Energy are also working on Haleu production. Centrus began the construction of centrifuges at Piketon in 2019 as part of a contract with the US Department of Energy and recently delivered a first batch of Haleu to the DOE.
A break from Russia’s monopoly will be crucial to the deployment and operation of a next generation of advanced reactors, US officials have said.
