The Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) welcomes the chance to respond to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Future of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund consultation.
The NIA is the trade association and representative body for the civil nuclear industry in the UK. We represent around 250 companies operating across all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, including the current and prospective operators of nuclear power stations, international designers, and vendors of nuclear power stations, and those engaged in decommissioning, waste management and nuclear liabilities management. Members also include nuclear equipment suppliers, engineering and construction firms, nuclear research organisations, and legal, financial and consultancy companies.
Due to the diversity of our membership, our views in this submission will cover high-level, industry-wide matters. Our members may choose to make their own detailed submissions.
Executive Summary:
To meet the challenge of climate change and help deliver Net Zero, the UK needs bold and urgent action in decarbonising industrial processes. Industrial processes require a significant portion of energy and many of these processes consume substantial amounts of heat. CO2 emissions from heavy industry can be reduced by redesigning current energy intensive, and high-temperature processes to integrate and support the use of low carbon advanced nuclear technologies, such as Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs) and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). Advanced nuclear technologies are capable of supplying heat for hydrogen production and replacing fossil fuel-generated heat for industrial processes. The small size, modularity, and flexibility of AMRs and SMRs are a major benefit in deploying these low carbon socialised energy sources. A scaled-up IETF could be a vehicle for the UK Government to co-invest in advanced reactor projects with consortia of private industry to raise the required capital investment.
Please click here to view our full response.
