UK / Westinghouse Gets £12.5 Million To Upgrade And Expand Nuclear Fuel Facility - NucNet
UK / Westinghouse Gets £12.5 Million To Upgrade And Expand Nuclear Fuel Facility :: NucNet | The Independent Nuclear News Agency
Investment will support development of next-generation reactors
The UK government has awarded Westinghouse Electric Company three grants totalling £10.5m (€12.2m, $13.6m) to upgrade and expand the Springfields fuel fabrication facility to support the country’s development and deployment of next-generation nuclear reactors.
Westinghouse, headquartered in the US, said awards will “future-proof” the UK nuclear fuel industry by developing more variants of light-water reactor fuels, including for Westnghouse’s own AP1000 reactor and AP300 small modular reactor.
The funding also supports potential production of high enriched low assay uranium-based (Haleu) advanced nuclear fuels for the UK’s new Generation III and IV fission reactors.
Westinghouse will partner with Canada-based Terrestrial Energy and the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory to pilot supply of enriched uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) and molten salt fuel for use in Terrestrial’s integral molten salt reactor.
Andrew Bowie, the UK’s minister for nuclear, said nuclear power is at the heart of the government’s plan to deliver cleaner, more secure home-grown energy and boost energy security.
“Today’s £10.5 million government funding to Westinghouse’s Springfields plant will support their development of new fuel technologies, essential to the development of the next generation of nuclear reactors, as well as supporting highly skilled jobs in Preston and across the North West.”
The Westinghouse Springfields site, near the city of Preston in northwest England, has manufactured nuclear fuel and related products for nearly 75 years.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.