29 July 2021
•
4 min read
The government hopes to have the first AMR demonstrator up and running by the mid 2030s | Credit: iStock
Government touts High Temperature Gas Reactors (HTGRs) to help decarbonise power and produce hydrogen
The government has set out its suggested approach for constructing the UK's first Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) demonstrator today, bolstering its ambition for the next generation of small nuclear power plants to be up and running within the next decade.
As part of a call for evidence launched today today, the government said it was looking to explore High Temperature Gas Reactors (HTGRs) as "the most promising model" for the AMR demonstrator programme, in which it is ploughing £170m investment towards to deliver the first facilities by the early 2030s.
AMRs are typically smaller than conventional nuclear power stations, offering greater flexibility and which can also be built at a fraction of the cost.
The government harbours hopes that, as well as delivering low carbon power to the grid to serve UK homes, HTGRs may also be able to help provide electricity for green hydrogen that could then potentially be used to help decarbonise a raft of other processes across transport and home heating.
And, in addition to electricity, HTGRs produce high levels of heat, which could also be used to help decarbonise industry and potentially feed district heating networks by the 2040s, the government said.
At present, over a third - 37 per cent - of the UK's carbon emissions are generated by heating, with industrial processes responsible for a significant portion, due in large part to the country's reliance on the fossil fuel gas for heating.
However, by generating heat at between 500C and 950C - higher than other types of AMR - HTGRs could significantly cut emissions from heavy manufacturing processes such as cement, paper, glass and chemical production, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said.
As such, BEIS is today launching a call for evidence to glean views from industry and the public on the government's preference for HTGRs for its AMR demonstration project.
Energy Minister Anne Marie Trevelyan said the next generation of small nuclear reactors - or AMRs - cold play a major role in decarbonising the UK's electricity and heating supplies as the economy shifts towards net zero over the next 30 years.
"While renewables like wind and solar will become an integral part of where our electricity will come from by 2050, they will always require a stable low-carbon baseload from nuclear," she said. "That is why, alongside negotiations with the developers of Sizewell C in Suffolk, we are pressing ahead with harnessing new and exciting advanced nuclear technology. Advanced modular reactors are the next level of modern nuclear technology and have the potential to play a crucial role not only in tackling carbon emissions, but also in powering industry and driving forward Britain's economic growth, as we build back greener."
It comes amid major challenges for the nuclear sector, both worldwide and in the UK, with major large scale projects such as the Hinckley Point C facility under construction in Somerset having seen expected budgets sour and schedules for completion repeatedly delayed.
Today's announcement builds on commitments made late last year in the government's Energy White Paper and the Prime Minister's Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, in which the £170m AMR research and development (R&D) programme was first announced. In total, the government has set aside a package worth £385m to accelerate development of more flexible nuclear technologies.
Dame Sue Ion, a fellow at the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering, hailed the government's preferred backing for HTGR announced today, which she said offered huge potential to decarbonise heavy industry and support the UK's net zero ambitions.
"This Advanced Modular Reactor demonstration plays to the UK strengths in nuclear fuel and gas cooled reactors in building a technology platform for HTGRs for the UK to exploit and potentially export internationally," she added.
Meanwhile, BEIS also revealed today that it was preparing to submit a summary of evidence to the Energy Working Group, which it said would help inform how to address nuclear energy in the Green Taxonomy - a set of rules currently being developed to clarify what constitutes as a 'green' for the financial and investment world.
The Green Taxonomy follows in the wake of similar efforts developed by the EU, in a bid to combat 'greenwashing' by setting a common framework for defining environmentally sustainable investments to aid the financial sector.
