Le Royaume-Uni veut produire du combustible pour centrales nucléaires d’ici 2030

The UK government announced on Sunday the launch of a fuel production program for the next generation of nuclear reactors, with an investment of £300 million (€348 million).

The UK thus intends to become the first country in Western Europe to launch the production of fuel based on low-enriched uranium with high assay (HALEU), which is currently only commercially produced by Russia. The first production site, in the northwest of England, is expected to be operational in the early 2030s, the government said in a statement.

The HALEU fuel, with uranium 235 content ranging from 5 to 20% — more than the 5% in the fuel powering most operational nuclear reactors — is needed to power many advanced reactor models, including small modular reactors (SMRs). The investment of £300 million is part of the UK government’s project to produce up to 24GW of electricity from nuclear power by 2050, a quarter of the country’s needs.

“We have stood up to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin on oil, gas, and financial markets” following the invasion in Ukraine, “we will not allow him to blackmail us on nuclear fuel,” said British Energy Security Minister Claire Couthino in a statement. The UK aims for 95% low-carbon electricity by 2030 and a fully decarbonized network by 2035.

However, the reversals of Rishi Sunak’s government on certain environmental measures will make the carbon neutrality objectives by 2050 more difficult to achieve, despite some progress, the independent CCC, which advises Downing Street on the issue, recently stated in a report.

The government announced at the end of September the postponement of the ban on the sale of new petrol cars to 2035.