The United Kingdom is embarking on a revival of nuclear power with the Great British Nuclear (GBN) scheme, which is expected to drive the expansion of new nuclear power plants in the country. The plan includes supporting both emerging SMR technology and large nuclear power plants like Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, targeting 24 GW by 2050. The government's objective is to provide up to 25% of the UK's electricity from nuclear power by 2050, while achieving competitive wholesale electricity prices in Europe.
A competition to develop SMRs was opened, with the aim to see them operating in the early 2030s. Companies can now register their interest with GBN to participate in a competition for funding support to develop their products, potentially attracting billions of pounds in investment from both the public and private sectors. The first round of down-selection is scheduled for the autumn 2023 and successful technologies will be supported to be ready to enable a Final Investment Decision (FID) by 2029. Alongside the GBN competition launch, the government unveiled a grant funding package of up to £157m (€180m) to accelerate advanced nuclear business development, support the design of advanced modular reactors (AMRs), and develop new fuel production capabilities.
There were 8 nuclear reactors in operation as of end-2022, with a total capacity of 8.1 GW. They are due to shut down between 2024 and 2028. EDF Energy is currently building the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, which comprises two 1.6 GW European pressurized reactors (EPRs) whose construction started in 2018 and 2019. The reactors are expected to be commissioned in 2027 and 2028, respectively. In addition, the Sizewell C nuclear project (3.3 GW), which is also built by EDF Energy and comprises two EPRs, is due to enter construction in 2024. Finally, the Bradwell B project, proposed by a consortium between China’s CGN and EDF Energy, would comprise two Chinese design Hualong One reactors (2.3 GW). Construction would take from 9 to 12 years.
Interested in Global Energy Research?
Enerdata's premium online information service provides up-to-date market reports on 110+ countries. The reports include valuable market data and analysis as well as a daily newsfeed, curated by our energy analysts, on the oil, gas, coal and power markets.
This user-friendly tool gives you the essentials about the domestic markets of your concern, including market structure, organisation, actors, projects and business perspectives.