A facility will be built in the UK to produce fuel for the latest generation of nuclear power plants, the government announced on Wednesday.
Almost £200 million will be invested in the Cheshire site, which will be the first in Europe to produce high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU).
“As we see more advanced modular reactors coming onstream, HALEU will be the fuel that will be required,” nuclear and renewables minister Andrew Bowie commented.
“Having more of that technology in the UK will mean we are able to supply them from a domestic source.”
Uranium enrichment firm Urenco will be awarded £196 million to build the fuel production site, according to Britain’s energy department, which should come online by 2031.
Britain is aiming to increase nuclear capacity to 24 gigawatts by 2050 under government plans, which would equate to around 25% of demand, against 14% currently.
Mini nuclear plants, known as small modular reactors (SMRs), are set to be rolled out to support the plans, with these hoped to be cheaper and quicker to build than conventional sites.
New traditional sites are set to be built at Hinkley Point, Somerset and Sizewell, Suffolk too, though these have faced years of delay and mounting costs.
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) is among firms to have submitted bids for government awards to build smaller sites, alongside EDF, GE-Hitachi, Holtec, NuScale and Westinghouse.
However, delays in the award process have prompted scrutiny, with Rolls-Royce previously warning its SMR technology could first be rolled out overseas.
According to the government, fuel from Ureco’s site could be exported, as well as used domestically, to help allies “wean themselves away from an over-reliance on Russia”.