{"id":24197,"date":"2022-08-09T09:16:03","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T08:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=24197"},"modified":"2022-08-09T09:16:03","modified_gmt":"2022-08-09T08:16:03","slug":"expanding-the-uks-nuclear-power-capacity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/expanding-the-uks-nuclear-power-capacity\/24197\/","title":{"rendered":"Expanding the UK\u2019s nuclear power capacity"},"content":{"rendered":"
Nuclear power has operated in the UK for decades and it looks set to only accelerate on an upwards trajectory moving forward. In April 2022, the UK government announced the British Energy Security Strategy, following a successful decade in which it approved the first nuclear power plant in a generation and achieved a fivefold increase in renewables. Amongst promises such as vastly increasing hydrogen production, the Strategy set out a variety of measures to improve its nuclear power capacity. A statement on the Strategy from Prime Minister Boris Johnson read: \u201cWe\u2019re embracing the safe, clean, affordable new generation of nuclear reactors, taking the UK back to pre-eminence in a field where we once led the world.\u201d The statement added that the government will \u201cmassively invest in nuclear power.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Strategy builds on the government\u2019s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, outlining approaches to support green jobs and accelerate the UK\u2019s path to net zero. The Plan details that the UK is pursuing large-scale nuclear power and is seeking to advance the future of nuclear through further investment in small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular reactors (AMRs). The plan includes a \u00a3120m Future Nuclear Enabling Fund to progress new nuclear, a \u00a3210m investment to develop SMRs with Rolls-Royce, and a \u00a3100m investment to support the development of EDF Energy\u2019s Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk. Some of this investment will come from the Advanced Nuclear Fund of up to \u00a3385m to support the next generation of nuclear technology.<\/p>\n
With the rise of the nuclear industry within the UK, it is essential that there are suitable research and testing facilities to support companies in the field. The Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC), backed by industry leaders and government and owned by the University of Sheffield<\/a>, helps UK manufacturers win work across the nuclear sector \u2013 in new build, operations and decommissioning \u2013 and in other quality-critical industries. Its facilities and services are open to all.<\/p>\n The centre\u2019s engineers and sector specialists work with companies to develop innovative techniques and optimised processes for large-scale high-precision manufacturing. Companies can use the Nuclear AMRC\u2019s state-of-the-art workshops to develop and test new processes on production-scale machines without losing capacity in their own factories.<\/p>\n The Nuclear AMRC also provides a range of supply chain development support to help manufacturers enter the nuclear market and compete worldwide. Its flagship Fit For Nuclear programme is a unique diagnostic tool which lets companies measure their operations against industry requirements and close any gaps.<\/p>\n As well as its core research factory on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in South Yorkshire, the centre operates a modularisation R&D facility at Birchwood Park, and is developing new technology capabilities at Nuclear AMRC Midlands in Derby. It is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult \u2013 a national alliance of seven leading manufacturing research centres.<\/p>\n The Innovation Platform<\/em> spoke to Andrew Storer, CEO of the Nuclear AMRC, to find out more about the current and future nuclear outlook in the UK and the Nuclear AMRC\u2019s role in furthering nuclear development.<\/p>\n