First, the government has said it will implement reforms to the nuclear regulatory system proposed in the Fingleton Report by 2027. Fingleton led an independent nuclear regulatory taskforce whose report, the government summarises, found an overly complex and bureaucratic system that favoured process over safe outcomes which has held back the industry.

Mike Finnerty, Chief Nuclear Inspector and Chief Executive of the Office for Nuclear Regulation, said: ‘As an enabling regulator, we look forward to working in close partnership with the government, industry and all stakeholders to drive forward the cultural and practical changes needed to safely deliver nuclear projects more efficiently and effectively in support of the country’s clean energy goals.’

Bob Anstey, Sector Director, Defence and Nuclear Energy at contractor Costain, called the changes ‘sensible steps that will help to streamline the regulatory burden for megaprojects like Sizewell C and the UK’s SMR Programme’.

At the same time, the government has announced funding for four times as many doctoral research positions as currently, to 500, as part of £66mn backing seven new university research programmes in nuclear technologies.

In other news, the Rolls Royce small modular reactor (SMR) planned for Anglesey has received regulatory justification from the Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds MP. The Nuclear Industry Association, which applied for the justification, said: ‘Regulatory justification is an important step in the approvals process for new nuclear power plant designs, ensuring that the benefits and potential detriments of a new nuclear technology are fully assessed before construction can proceed.’ (However, the government noted that, following reforms, this might be the last time a light-water reactor would have to go through this step.)

Elsewhere, further information has been published about a new government scheme to prequalify small-scale private-sector projects, called the UK Advanced Nuclear Pipeline.  

According to newly-updated guidance, the process works like this: ‘...Projects submit detailed plans across five core areas: technology and supply chain; developer capability; finance/funding/investment; siting; and operator/end-user arrangements. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and GBE-N will then conduct eligibility checks and a structured Project Readiness Assessment (PRA) (rapid triage, then deep dive). Projects assessed at or above the threshold may be invited to join the Pipeline, subject to ministerial approval and agreement to Pipeline terms. Pipeline Membership confers a Statement of Limited, In-Principle, Endorsement, signalling that government considers the project credible and potentially deliverable in the UK, thereby helping developers and investors progress financing and due diligence. Pipeline projects may engage with DESNZ on potential revenue support, eg a Contracts for Difference (CfD)-style mechanism that stabilises future revenues, and High Impact, Low Probability (HILP) risk protections where private markets cannot efficiently bear residual risks.’

A focus on the commercial sector is also evident in a new national strategy for nuclear fusion (combining atoms rather than breaking them apart). This breaks down the £2.5bn fusion R&D investment promised last year over 25 years. It will include £200mn (to 2029) for construction of STEP, a fusion energy plant in a former coal plant in Nottinghamshire. That partner was named as ILIOS, a consortium led by a joint venture between Kier and Nuvia, and supported by AECOM, AL A Architects and Turner & Townsend. Delivering that project will be UK Industrial Fusion Solutions (renamed as UK Fusion Energy) with a £1.3bn cheque. There’s also a £45mn payment to build a UK Atomic Energy Authority/University of Cambridge supercomputer for fusion. About the same amount (£50mn) will be spent on fusion skills and innovation.

In other news, Eni has joined UKAEA in the H3AT fusion fuel cycle facility in Culham, Oxfordshire, due to be completed in 2028 and fully commissioned in 2030. Its design and fabrication partner was also named as Kinectrics of Canada, which is said to bring decades of experience with tritium – a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is an essential fuel for future fusion power plants.