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Released August 10, 2021 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The U.K. government has announced a funding pot of £170 million (US$237 million) to develop its first advanced modular reactor (AMR) demonstrator project.
The funding for smaller, more flexible nuclear technologies will be invested specifically into high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs) which, it claimed, is the most promising model for the demonstration programme. The funding forms part of a previously announced £385 million (US$536 million) package to accelerate the development of more flexible nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs). AMR technologies, like SMRs, share common attributes in that they are smaller than conventional nuclear power station reactors and are designed so that much of the plant can be fabricated in a factory environment and transported to site--reducing construction time, risks and overall costs.
AMRs tend to use different types of fuel and coolants compared to conventional water-cooled reactors. The government stated that AMR demonstrators can produce high-temperature heat that could be used for low-carbon hydrogen production, heat for industrial/domestic processes and cost-competitive electricity generation, in time for any potential commercial-scale AMRs to support the country's net zero emissions goals by 2050. HTGRs are one of the main six AMR technologies defined by the international Generation IV forum and, based on independent reports and technical analysis, are currently considered by the U.K. government as the most viable to pursue. The first demonstrator will have to be in operation by the early 2030s. The other five types of AMRs are lead-cooled fast reactor, molten salt reactor, supercritical water-cooled reactor, sodium-cooled fast reactor and gas-cooled reactor.
"While renewables like wind and solar will become an integral part of where our electricity will come from by 2050, they will always require a stable low-carbon baseload from nuclear," said U.K. Energy Minister, Anne Marie Trevelyan. "That is why, alongside negotiations with the developers of Sizewell C in Suffolk, we are pressing ahead with harnessing new and exciting advanced nuclear technology."
Industrial Info is tracking the planned Sizewell C nuclear project which is being developed by French energy major, Électricité de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris). The £18 billion ($22 billion) project will see a 3.2-gigawatt (GW) plant constructed on the Suffolk coast of England, a near replica of Hinkley Point C in Somerset which is currently under construction and not due to start operating until 2026. Industrial Info is tracking the activity at all of the U.K.'s existing nuclear power plants, which account for roughly 16% of the country's power. Many of those are approaching the end of their operating lives, with half expected to close by 2025 and the rest by 2030. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for related projects.
In June, EDF Energy, said that it would immediately close and move to defueling the two advanced gas-cooled reactors at the 1,250-MW Dungeness B nuclear plant in southern England--seven years earlier than expected. It was the third early nuclear plant closure announced by the company in less than a year, after the September 2020 announcement of early closure of the Hunterston B nuclear power plant in Scotland (990 MW) and the Hinkley Point B plant (940 MW) in western England due to graphite cracking problems. For additional information, see June 16, 2021, article - U.K. Loses Another Nuclear Power Plant.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
The funding for smaller, more flexible nuclear technologies will be invested specifically into high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs) which, it claimed, is the most promising model for the demonstration programme. The funding forms part of a previously announced £385 million (US$536 million) package to accelerate the development of more flexible nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs). AMR technologies, like SMRs, share common attributes in that they are smaller than conventional nuclear power station reactors and are designed so that much of the plant can be fabricated in a factory environment and transported to site--reducing construction time, risks and overall costs.
AMRs tend to use different types of fuel and coolants compared to conventional water-cooled reactors. The government stated that AMR demonstrators can produce high-temperature heat that could be used for low-carbon hydrogen production, heat for industrial/domestic processes and cost-competitive electricity generation, in time for any potential commercial-scale AMRs to support the country's net zero emissions goals by 2050. HTGRs are one of the main six AMR technologies defined by the international Generation IV forum and, based on independent reports and technical analysis, are currently considered by the U.K. government as the most viable to pursue. The first demonstrator will have to be in operation by the early 2030s. The other five types of AMRs are lead-cooled fast reactor, molten salt reactor, supercritical water-cooled reactor, sodium-cooled fast reactor and gas-cooled reactor.
"While renewables like wind and solar will become an integral part of where our electricity will come from by 2050, they will always require a stable low-carbon baseload from nuclear," said U.K. Energy Minister, Anne Marie Trevelyan. "That is why, alongside negotiations with the developers of Sizewell C in Suffolk, we are pressing ahead with harnessing new and exciting advanced nuclear technology."
Industrial Info is tracking the planned Sizewell C nuclear project which is being developed by French energy major, Électricité de France SA (EPA:EDF) (Paris). The £18 billion ($22 billion) project will see a 3.2-gigawatt (GW) plant constructed on the Suffolk coast of England, a near replica of Hinkley Point C in Somerset which is currently under construction and not due to start operating until 2026. Industrial Info is tracking the activity at all of the U.K.'s existing nuclear power plants, which account for roughly 16% of the country's power. Many of those are approaching the end of their operating lives, with half expected to close by 2025 and the rest by 2030. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for related projects.
In June, EDF Energy, said that it would immediately close and move to defueling the two advanced gas-cooled reactors at the 1,250-MW Dungeness B nuclear plant in southern England--seven years earlier than expected. It was the third early nuclear plant closure announced by the company in less than a year, after the September 2020 announcement of early closure of the Hunterston B nuclear power plant in Scotland (990 MW) and the Hinkley Point B plant (940 MW) in western England due to graphite cracking problems. For additional information, see June 16, 2021, article - U.K. Loses Another Nuclear Power Plant.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
