Iberdrola and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation towards the deployment of PRISM technology as a credible long-term solution to reuse existing reprocessed plutonium in the United Kingdom. The two companies, together with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) which advises on the decommissioning plans for current and planned nuclear power stations and is in charge of waste management, will analyse the options for GEH’s PRISM technology which can reuse the plutonium stockpile to generate electricity.
In January 2014, the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) noted that, on the information provided, PRISM's fourth generation nuclear power technology could be considered as a credible option for managing the UK's plutonium stockpile. PRISM is a mature technology which provides a solution to harness the remaining energy potential of used nuclear fuel, in the form of plutonium. First estimates by GEH indicate that PRISM technology, with a life span of at least 60 years, could recycle the UK’s entire plutonium stockpile (over 100 tonnes) in 25 years.