The Infrastructure Podcast: Episode 119

Guest:  Tim Stone CBE, independent non executive director, Great British Energy - Nuclear.

The new nuclear "golden age"

In today's podcast we’re going to explore the UK government's latest announcement to invest vast sums of public cash in the nuclear industry.

The latest spending review included £14.2bn to kickstart the Sizewell C plant and £2.5bn to underpin ongoing research into fusion technology. But crucially, it also outlined plans to pump £2.5bn into Small Modular Reactor development – something that I think is perhaps one of the most ambitious – and transformational announcements in the UK’s energy history.

And it’s this announcement that I really want to focus on today.

But it is also clear that after decades of hesitation, the UK government – through it’s public energy business Great British Nuclear part of GB Energy - has committed to a bold new era of nuclear power, And its backing it with public cash. 

So what does this actually mean in practice? 

• What is an SMR – and why is the government betting on them to power millions of homes and secure the nation’s energy future? 
• How do these small, factory-built reactors compare to the large-scale nuclear power plants like Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C? 
• And critically – can we really deliver this bold vision on time, on budget, and with the skilled workforce we need?

Well to unpack all of this – and help make sense of the opportunities and challenges ahead – I’m joined once again on the Infrastructure Podcast by Tim Stone, Non-Executive Director, Great British Energy - Nuclear and former chair of the Nuclear Industry Association, the body at the heart of this once-in-a-generation transformation and my go to mind for all things nuclear.

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