The UK government has pledged £196 million to create what it has called Europe’s first-ever nuclear fuel facility, equipped with advanced technologies, in Cheshire.
The site is set to be built and co-funded by Urenco in Capenhurst as part of a £300m scheme announced in January.
Currently, Russia is the dominant player in the global advanced nuclear fuel market, with the Kremlin’s nuclear giant Rosatom Corp being the world’s only commercial supplier of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU).
Driven by a desire to reduce reliance on Russia’s energy supply chain, the new facility is expected to produce up to 10 tonnes of advanced uranium fuel per annum by 2031.
HALEU will be used to power new advanced modular reactors, contributing to a broader national agenda to quadruple the UK’s nuclear capacity by 2050.
Such advanced reactors are more efficient and use alternative fuels, coolants and technologies to produce low-carbon electricity.
Updated planning measures have also been announced to position the UK as a more competitive location for investment, enabling “the nation [to be] on the front foot before the technology is ready to be deployed”.
The government has said this fuel supply could contain as much energy as more than one million tonnes of coal.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak commented on the scheme’s role in improving the resilience of regional energy supply chains and that the new site is set to “prise Putin’s blood-soaked hands off Europe’s energy market”.
Under the plans, the new site will support the creation of 400 jobs.
As well as improving domestic energy security, the UK government also hopes to isolate Russia from international energy markets, following barriers to imports of Russian oil and gas after it invaded Ukraine.
Sunak added: “Russia has been the sole provider of this powerful nuclear fuel for too long and this marks the latest step in pushing him out of the energy market entirely.
“The wider future of British nuclear remains a critical national endeavour – guaranteeing nuclear and energy security, and reducing energy bills for Brits.”
Claire Coutinho, secretary of state for energy security, commented: “Backing Urenco to build a uranium enrichment plant here in the UK will mean we are the first European nation outside Russia to produce advanced nuclear fuel.
“This will support hundreds of new jobs, bring investment for the people in Cheshire and is a huge win for energy security at home and abroad.”
The US uranium enrichment segment is set to receive a US$2.7bn (c.£2.1bn) boost through a government bill announced in March, marking further attempts to reduce Russia’s monopoly over the global supply of HALEU.
