UK
Claire Coutinho hands £30m to US mini-nuke project rivalling Rolls-Royce

Howard Mustoe
Fri, 8 December 2023

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has awarded Florida based Holtec the government funding - Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has handed £30m in government funding to a US designer of mini-nuclear reactors which plans to accelerate operations in the UK.

Holtec, based in Florida, has been competing with Rolls-Royce and other companies to secure taxpayer backing to explore low-carbon energy sources.

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are seen as a potential supplier of green energy to rival wind farms and solar energy.

They are smaller than full-size nuclear power plants and can be factory-built, cutting costs through mass production.

Holtec is developing a reactor that can be cooled in an emergency without external power.

A single 160MW Holtec reactor will occupy six hectares, the equivalent of 10 football pitches, making it suitable for industrial sites.

The firm’s main business comes from selling equipment to manage spent nuclear fuel.

Nuclear Minister Andrew Bowie said the Government is rapidly expanding Britain's nuclear power capacity - Geoff Pugh

Nuclear Minister Andrew Bowie said: “As the Government that revitalised the UK nuclear industry, committing public funds to nuclear for the first time in a generation, we’re rapidly expanding our nuclear power capacity to move towards a cleaner energy mix and help deliver net zero.”

Holtec and Rolls-Royce are up against French state-owned power producer EDF, US designer NuScale Power, Westinghouse Electric Company and GE-Hitachi in bidding for SMR orders from the UK.

NuScale, which already has design approval in the US for its model, was dealt a blow last month when its maiden deal to build six plants in Utah collapsed.

Depending on its size and design, the price of an SMR could start at $100m, rather than the tens of billions that traditional nuclear power stations cost.

Hinkley Point C in Somerset was estimated to cost around £26bn in 2015, for example, but could now end up costing £33bn, according to latest estimates.

Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “This funding shows the UK is committed to its new nuclear programme which needs to be rolled out at pace and at scale to ensure we ramp up nuclear so we can deliver clean power for net zero and good, green jobs for our communities.