Great British Nuclear (GBN) has issued an “invitation to negotiate” to the four companies that were chosen for the shortlist of the UK government’s small modular reactor (SMR) selection process.
GBN, the public body set up to drive the delivery of new nuclear energy projects in the UK, said that after these negotiations are concluded, the companies will be invited to submit final tenders, which GBN will then evaluate.
A final decision on which technologies to select will be taken in the spring. GBN said it will provide further updates in due course.
The four companies remaining in the process are GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy International, Holtec Britain Ltd, Rolls Royce SMR Ltd and Westinghouse Electric Company UK.
The two companies that were on an initial list of six, but were not included in the list of four, were EDF and US-based NuScale Power.
French state-owned utility and nuclear operator EDF said in July that it had pulled out of the competition after deciding to shift away from its indigenous Nuward technology to a design based on proven technology only.
The UK government gave no reason for NuScale’s failure to make the list of four. In November 2023, NuScale cancelled its first SMR project, in the US, as costs increased.
Industry Calls For No Delays
Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the London-based Nuclear Industry Association, said that whilst it is good to see the UK SMR competition reach this stage, what is critical is reaching a decision as soon as possible without any further delays to the now published timeline.
“Confidence in the UK government’s pronouncements on support for SMRs rests on fulfilling commitments made today,” Greatrex said.
“It is vital for supply chain confidence as well as driving the wider nuclear ambition.”
Greatrex called for the government to empower GBN to buy more sites, starting with Heysham, so “we can deliver a fleet of SMRs for clean, reliable, British power and good, skilled jobs”.
The SMR competition for UK government support was launched last year by the then Conservative government, as part of a strategy to replenish the UK’s dwindling nuclear power fleet, most of which is due to shut down by the end of the decade.
It has been running behind the initial schedule to award contracts by the end of summer 2024.