The UK has launched a new nuclear innovation programme. This was recently announced in Manchester by the country’s Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (equivalent to Minister in South Africa), Greg Clark.

“We want to upgrade the UK’s existing nuclear expertise and to position the UK as a global leader in innovative nuclear technologies,” he said at the Innovate 2016 exhibition.

The first stage of the programme involves the release of some £20-million over the next two years, which will be devoted to five research areas. Clark described this as the “first tranche of a major new programme of research and innovation in nuclear, bringing together research, science and innovation with our Industrial Strategy to secure our energy supplies for the future to establish a lead for Britain in this area”.

The development of advanced nuclear fuels will receive £6-million. This will ensure higher nuclear safety levels and contribute towards both the planned new build programme for conventional power plants and the possible future small modular reactors.

Research into the design of the next generation of nuclear reactors will get £5-million. This project is being carried out in cooperation with the Welsh (provincial) government.

New research into fuel recycling will benefit to the tune of £2-million. This research is aimed at cutting both financial and environmental burdens in the future.

Another £2-million will be committed to developing analytical models and the supporting data. The aim is to assist decision-makers on matters regarding future new nuclear innovation.

And a little more than £5-million will go to Innovate UK, which is Britain’s innovation agency. This will be used to improve reactor efficiency and operational safety, and to reduce reactor manufacturing costs.

“With nuclear power having already played an important role in the UK’s energy mix for over 50 years, we already have impressive expertise in this country,” he affirmed. “But we need to expand our capabilities and ambitions to make sure that, as more international opportunities arise, British firms and specialists are best placed to advise on everything from next-generation design to enhanced fuel safety or fuel recycling.”

Clark affirmed that the new nuclear innovation programme was “critical, given the new, fresh start we’ve given to our nuclear industry through the approval of Hinkley Point C earlier this [northern] summer. British research has a formidable reputation on the global stage, and combined with our strength in advanced manufacturing, nuclear innovation can deliver real benefits as we move to a low-carbon future.”

A few days later, in a speech at the Energy UK conference, Clark stated that “we cannot allocate subsidies to every technology that asks for them. Our focus will be on key technologies that have the potential to scale up and the potential to come down in cost and where the UK has a comparative advantage. Above all, that means offshore wind and nuclear have a big role to play . . . These technologies are where Britain has a history and expertise. We are building world-leading centres across the country. Our nuclear cluster in Cumbria is a great example . . . [There] we have developed the Centre of Nuclear Excellence.”

The new Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant has been criticised because its “contract for difference” gives it a minimum guaranteed price (or “strike price”) of £92.50/MWh for its first 35 years of operation. But draft contracts for difference for renewable-energy projects, released by Clark’s Department on November 9, give offshore wind projects “deploying” in 2021/22 a strike price of £105/MWh, while those “deploying” in 2022/23 would get £100/MWh. And these are the cheapest renewable options – the most expensive being wave power, at £310/MWh for 2021/22 deploying projects and $300/MWh for 2022/23 deploying projects.

he UK also funds research, development and innovation in nuclear fusion. These funds are administered by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (which specialises in fusion and fusion-related research) and are assigned to both national and international fusion research programmes, such as the JET (Joint European Torus) and the ITER (Latin for “The Way”).