The pilot program for their construction is 170 million pounds (236 million dollars), government sources in London said.
The British government has selected in 2021 high-temperature gas-cooled reactors as the “most promising model” for the pilot program to smooth out small nuclear reactors, Bloomberg reported, citing government sources. Along with electricity, this type of reactor can produce pure hydrogen and heat, the government explained, and the start of the demonstration project is scheduled for the beginning of the next decade.
The program for its construction is 170 million pounds (236 million dollars), and the decision of Great Britain comes days after the plans for new, large-scale power plants were called into question by its deteriorating relations with China.
The government is seeking to exclude China’s state-owned nuclear company from future energy projects – a move that could jeopardize two proposed plants and make it harder for the UK to meet its low-carbon energy targets, Bloomberg added.
“While renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy will become an integral part of where our electricity will come from by 2050, they will always require a stable low-carbon base load from nuclear energy,” said Ann Marie Trevelyan, state energy minister. She emphasized that advanced modular reactors are the next level of modern nuclear technology and have the potential to play a crucial role not only in the fight against carbon emissions, but also in the energy industry.
Small modular reactors and modern modular reactors are cheaper and faster to build than large conventional stations, such as the Hinkley Point Electricite de France SA project, which is underway in the south-west of England. In addition, larger reactors have been in use for decades, while smaller ones are being promoted as an alternative which can be faster to build.
