Prime Minister hosted a roundtable at
Downing Street today with leaders from the nuclear industry to
discuss how to improve domestic energy security and rapidly
accelerate nuclear projects in the UK.
The Prime Minister made clear the vision for nuclear to be a
major part of the UK’s future energy system as a clean, reliable
and safe energy source. He set out this government’s commitment
to supporting the industry to develop a thriving pipeline of
future nuclear projects in the UK in a cost-effective way.
Industry representatives set out the various technologies and
projects they are developing, from larger nuclear power plants to
small modular reactors, capitalising on both British and
international expertise.
The Prime Minister invited views on how the UK can accelerate
rapid progress on securing new nuclear capacity. They discussed
the benefits of scaling up investment and removing barriers
facing development, agreeing to work together to help projects
become operational more quickly and cheaply.
The Prime Minister and attendees also reflected on the need to
build strong skills and supply chains to support the UK nuclear
industry.
The roundtable comes ahead of the publication of the Government’s
energy security strategy this month, with renewable energy,
nuclear and domestic gas all a crucial part of achieving its
aims.
After the roundtable, the Prime Minister met with apprentices
from EDF Energy and saw a model of Rolls Royce’s Small Modular
Reactor design.
Business Secretary , Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster and Exchequer Secretary to
the Treasury Helen Whatley also attended the roundtable.
Organisations who attended included: Nuclear Industry
Association, Aviva Investors, Balfour Beatty, Bechtel Group
Incorporated, EDF Energy, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, L&G,
MACE, NAMRC, Nuclear Power Jacobs, NuScale, Rolls Royce, Rothesay
Life, Westinghouse Electric Company, Urenco, and USS.
