Thursday 7 April 2022

James Murphy, Chief Strategy Officer at the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), said:

“We welcome today’s British Energy Security Strategy, which provides a firm commitment from government on new nuclear and lays the long-term foundations for a secure, clean and cost-effective UK energy economy with nuclear at its heart.

“The Strategy reflects the need for a complementary programme of low-carbon technologies, including an acceleration of large, small and advanced nuclear. The target of increasing civil nuclear through up to eight new reactors – representing up to 24GW by 2050 – is significant and will give confidence to the sector, supply chain and financial markets over the coming years. This will enable the UK to leverage our rich nuclear heritage to drive new high-skilled, high-value green jobs in the regions that will benefit most.

“Nuclear’s flexibility goes far beyond low-carbon electricity and the Strategy reiterates the government’s commitment to a UK advanced modular reactor (AMR) demonstration. High-grade heat from AMRs would be a game-changer in decarbonising a range of industrial applications. From producing large-scale, zero-carbon hydrogen to ammonia and synthetic aviation fuels, nuclear heat could transform the way we approach net zero for vital sectors such as shipping and aviation which are hard to decarbonise through electricity alone.

“As the UK’s national laboratory for nuclear fission, we are driving the research, innovation and skills to enable the UK nuclear sector to deliver on this opportunity. By working with our partners across government, industry and academia – and our counterparts internationally – we will accelerate the programmes needed and maximise the potential of new and advanced nuclear ahead of 2050 and beyond.”