In the aftermath of COP 28, where some 20 countries pledged to triple nuclear generation, the U.K. government committed to quadrupling its nuclear power, in a major policy initiative called the Civil Nuclear Roadmap. This document sets out how the U.K. will quadruple its nuclear by 2050, which is the most abitious nuclear growth program among developed nations and second only to the nuclear build program in China.  While the announcement received relatively little notice  in the U.S. press, the U.K. government's accompanying press release must have gotten more notice, as it described this plan as the "Biggest expansion of nuclear power for 70 years to create jobs, reduce bills and strengthen Britain's energy security."

In the two years since Putin began his illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine and subsequently caused those who had previously depended on Russian gas to have to revise their plans, the U.K. has had to work hard to secure energy supply, defend against price volatility and reassess how to insulate the U.K. energy supply going forward from dependence on hostile foreign regimes.

The plan the government arrived at centers around a large expansion of nuclear power—the biggest in 70 years, with the aim of creating thousands of new jobs, securing U.K. energy supply, reducing emissions and electricity bills.  WIth it, the government intends to provide the nuclear industry with certainty regarding its commitment to building both grid-scale and small modular reactors. They expect nuclear generation to increase by up to 4 times, to 25gigawatts of power by 2050, which would provide 25% of the U.K.'s electricity needs. The Roadmap calls for securing between 3 and 7 GW worth of new nuclear projects every 5 years, in order to achieve their goal.

Additionally, the government will invest up to £300 million to bolster the U.K.'s fuel production capabilities, including the production of HALEU, which has historically been commercially produced only in Russia. The U.K. becomes the first European country to thus launch a HALEU production program, with the aim of being able to help provide this fuel around the world, and push Russia out of the market.

In order to make this level of progress more assured, the govenment has committed to bringing the best and brightest together to brainstorm how best to accelerate project, while maintaining the highest levels of safety and security. They hope to both streamline regulation and coordinate with other overseas regulators that are actively assessing new technologies.  They are also looking to take accelerated approaches to engaging local communities in the siting of future nuclear power plants and supporting private development of advanced nuclear projects at new locations.

This roadmap builds upon the work started by the Great British Nuclear initiative last year, which launched a competition for SMR developers, which the government believe will transform how power stations are built by making construction faster and less expensive. But to achieve the progress necessary, the U.K. needs to build up the nuclear workforce so it is invest in building workforce skills.

All in, this is the most agressive nuclear growth program in the world.

Click here to access the Civil Nuclear: Roadmap to 2050.

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Published by Nucleation Capital in REPORTS