Capenhurst Facility: High-assay Low-enriched Uranium

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Lords Chamber

Question

15:28

Asked by

[Lord Rooker]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards their target to develop High Assay Low Enriched Uranium domestic enrichment capacity at the Capenhurst facility in Cheshire; and how much of the £196 million funding has been spent to date.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Baroness Curran) (Lab)]

My Lords, a resilient, secure nuclear fuel supply chain for nuclear reactors is essential to deliver energy security and to support any ambitions to grow our nuclear reactor fleet. His Majesty’s Government have committed £300 million to establish a sovereign high-assay low-enriched uranium—HALEU—capability by 2031. Urenco has been awarded £196 million of this £300 million total to deliver a first of a kind HALEU facility, which is co-funded alongside government spending. We have seen great progress to date and the project is well under way.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that Answer. Does she appreciate the vitality of this new process for new reactors, particularly small modular reactors? The only material available at the moment for that kind of process is from China and Russia. It looks as though the UK, and the USA, have left it a bit late. Can the Government guarantee that Urenco’s work at Capenhurst will slip into the programme for the small modular reactors, so that we can get going? It has been delay, delay, delay, and that has to stop.

[Baroness Curran (Lab)]

I recognise the importance of that question, and the strength that lies behind it. We very much support that urgency and the need to make sure that it is all about delivery, and recognise the connection to the small modular programme, which is something that we will emphasise. In terms of this programme, we have broken ground, completed design milestones, and are on track for 2031. Funding is being drawn down appropriately on achieving project milestones. I asked specifically how that is monitored and how we push ahead with that programme. There is confidence, and we are assured of that; there is vitality in this programme. We understand its relevance, and that we must provide this as an alternative to Russian supply. It is vital for our security, and I commit to my noble friend that I will attempt to match his enthusiasm and drive to make sure that this happens.

[Lord Wigley (PC)]

My Lords, will the Minister give an assurance that there are no issues arising in Capenhurst that will be allowed to delay the new SMR programme for the replacement of the Wylfa power station in Anglesey?

[Baroness Curran (Lab)]

I have been assured that it will not create any delays. I will make sure that I answer the specifics of that and perhaps write to the noble Lord to make sure that I give him that assurance. As I stand here, my understanding is that I can categorically give that assurance.

[Earl Russell (LD)]

My Lords, we strongly support this programme, and recognise that it is an important part of increasing our resilience and making sure that we are not still dependent on the Russian nuclear fuel cycle. Can the Minister confirm when start-up is likely to happen? How are the Government working with our international partners on these matters, particularly given that America is also a major supplier of this type of fuel?

[Baroness Curran (Lab)]

We do believe that we are on track for a start-up in 2031, and of course we work with international partners. The UK is working closely with European partners to develop a secure and resilient supply, which will play an important role in also producing medical radioisotopes. We work closely with the G7 to remain close partners in discussions on how we build supply chains free of Russian influence. I am sure noble Lords will be aware that the UK has already implemented a direct ban on Russian uranium, in May 2026. This also restricts UK persons or entities from facilitating Russian uranium supply to third countries. We have a close working partnership with the United States on nuclear policy. I attended the G20 Ministers’ meeting, and in that dimension, there was good co-operation.

[Lord Ravensdale (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as a chief engineer working for AtkinsRéalis. Within the plutonium stockpile at Sellafield, there is something of a goldmine: £60 billion worth of an isotope called americium. The economic benefit could be much wider than that, because if we can capture the full value chain of this isotope in using it for things such as nuclear batteries and space and defence applications, we could capture even more value in a new industry for the UK. To unlock private capital and private investment, we need clear assurances from the Government and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority that they support this programme, to allow that investment to proceed. Can the Minister say when the Government will be in a position to provide those assurances?

[Baroness Curran (Lab)]

I have had a discussion previously with the noble Lord about americium, and I appreciate the briefing that he has given me. The Government have supported the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory to extract americium from the UK’s civil separated plutonium inventory at Sellafield for the European Space Agency’s ENDURE programme. We recognise the potential importance of americium for other advanced technologies, including space power systems. We are currently working with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to explore opportunities for collaboration with industry. I should say to the noble Lord that no decisions have been made at this stage, but discussions are ongoing, and I have a funny feeling that he will ask for those further discussions to include him, which I am happy to do.

[Lord Moynihan (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of Amey, Acteon and Buckthorn Partners. Urenco at Capenhurst is a successful project, as the Minister said, funded by the UK and Dutch Governments and two private German firms, and it aims to become the West’s first commercial HALEU plant. Will the Government now take steps to encourage the development of a domestic fuel supply chain, including decompression and fuel fabrication, to capture the significant value of this emerging market? Does this success story not prove that we do not need to acquiesce to EU rules and call on taxpayers to fund expensive EU electricity projects to have a productive working relationship with the continent in the pursuit of low-cost energy?

[Baroness Curran (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for that question—he never fails to surprise me with some of the questions that he asks. I can commit to the domestic supply chain. It is important because, as I have said before from the Dispatch Box, we want to get a double hit out of our investment: not only is it about creating that supply chain, it is about the benefits that come with the supply chain and the skills and the jobs that that will mean for Britain. I guarantee to the noble Lord that that is a vital part of this programme. It is a success story for Britain that we should be proud of and that we should focus on. On his wider point about Europe, I am always willing to work with European partners and support the electricity market of Great Britain, and will continue to do so.

[Lord Spellar (Lab)]

My Lords, speaking of the supply chain, I want to reference the role of Sheffield Forgemasters, which was taken over by the Government with considerable extra investment, and yet when it comes to the small modular reactors we seem to be outsourcing a lot of the forging work to the Czech Republic and South Korea.

[Baroness Curran (Lab)]

I do not have direct details on that specific project so I will write to the noble Lord and make sure that I can address those issues. As he will know, the Government’s SMR programme is backed by £2.6 billion across the spending review period and will create 3,000 skilled jobs onsite during peak construction and thousands more across the supply chain. The Government’s ambition is for 70% of SMR supply chain products to be British built, which is shown by over 70% of our £900 million invested into supply chain contracts going into UK-registered companies. As I say, I want this investment to work twice, once in supporting our energy security mission and once for British jobs and British business.

[Lord Morse (CB)]

My Lords, after that encouraging statement, I ask the Minister whether we are giving the same level of energy to capturing all the intellectual property associated with this project that we possibly can, because in the past we have often failed to do that.

[Baroness Curran (Lab)]

To be absolutely honest, I cannot give a guarantee about that because it is not in my briefing and I have not asked for it. I will do that and I will be encouraged to pursue that issue, given that that has been a failure in the past. I will pay great attention to that and speak to the relevant officials.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

In the last three seconds of this Question, I thank my noble friend for the positive answers that she has given. But can she convince the House that, as far as civil nuclear power in this country is concerned, there is one overall policy and not a series of silos? That is what it looks like.

[Baroness Curran (Lab)]

I congratulate my noble friend on getting in in the last three seconds there. I recognise what he has said, and that is certainly not our intention. There is now much greater coherence to our civil nuclear policy. That is something that we want to argue for and proselytise about. Particularly as I am Scottish and live in Scotland, I see that some other Governments do not understand the importance of this industry, but that is something that I will certainly be advocating, as will my colleagues across the ministerial offices. We will make the point, if it is not clear to people, that there is coherence behind this. We see it as an answer to energy security and clean energy, so we need to address that. Noble Lords should believe me that the commitment is there.