Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they plan to dispose of the plutonium stockpile at Sellafield.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government took the decision to immobilise the UK’s civil separated plutonium inventory based on strategic, economic, technical and safety and security considerations. Immobilisation will put the material into a form which both reduces the long-term safety and security burden during storage and ensures it is suitable for disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). Implementing a long-term solution for plutonium is essential to dealing with the UK’s nuclear legacy and leaving the environment safer for future generations. Furthermore, all current and planned UK reactors use uranium-based fuels.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with advanced modular reactor developer Newcleo, who previously stated their intention to use UK plutonium in their technology.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ has engaged with several nuclear companies seeking to invest in the UK, including having discussions with Newcleo on their ambitions to deploy their nuclear reactor technology in the UK. The department is currently reviewing Newcleo’s application to enter the Generic Design Assessment regulatory process.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how a decision about the plutonium stockpile at Sellafield was made; and what work has been done to establish the potential of technology that could produce mixed oxide fuel from plutonium.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government decided to immobilise the UK’s civil separated plutonium inventory based on analysis of strategic, economic, technical and safety and security considerations. This included both immobilisation and re-use in mixed oxide (MOX) fuel options. No UK reactor projects use plutonium-based fuel and the UK’s MOX fuel plant closed in 2011.
Immobilisation will deliver the Government’s objective to put this material into a safer and more stable form for long-term storage and ensure it is suitable for disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF).
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any assessment has been made of the impact of the plutonium stockpile at Sellafield on the long-term national interest by anyone other than the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; and if so, who.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The decision to immobilise the UK’s civil separated plutonium inventory was taken by the Government, based on consideration of strategic, technical, economic and safety and security factors. A substantial component of this analysis was delivered by NDA, and the Government also engaged with international partners and relevant experts in a range of organisations.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to pursue nuclear power if they permanently immobilise and entomb underground the stockpile of plutonium at Sellafield.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All current and planned UK reactors use uranium fuels. Through the Nuclear Fuel Fund the Government has invested over £35m to develop new domestic uranium fuel production capabilities to ensure security of supply for the UK and our international partners. The Government is further investing up to £300m to establish a high assay low enriched uranium supply chain in the UK to support advanced nuclear technologies in the UK and overseas.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made in the domestic heating market with the use of blends of hydrogen up to 20 per cent by volume in Great Britain's gas network.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government remains committed to examining the case for hydrogen heating and is reviewing plans. This work aims to gather evidence on the feasibility, costs and benefits of hydrogen heating that can inform decisions on its potential role.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Great British Nuclear to speed up the decision-making process to pick a supplier of small nuclear reactors.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Nuclear, the Department’s arm’s-length body responsible for helping deliver the government’s nuclear programme, is currently running a small modular reactor technology selection process for UK deployment. This is a live procurement and is on-going. The window for submitting tenders has now closed and Great British Nuclear is currently evaluating bids. We look forward to providing further information in due course.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the delay in Great British Nuclear's selection of small modular reactor designs for public support and its awarding of contracts for development.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
At Spring Budget, we announced the launch of the next phase of the Great British Nuclear (GBN) Small Modular Reactor selection process, allowing vendors to bid for potentially multi-billion-pound technology development contracts. It is important that this process is robust. Companies will have until June to submit their tender responses, at which point GBN will assess these and negotiate final contracts, with the goal of announcing successful bidders later in 2024. The aim is for the competition to be the fastest of its kind in the world.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the reason for the further delay in Great British Nuclear making a decision on selecting small modular reactor designs, which was to have been by the spring to allow for development contracts to be agreed by the summer, and what is now the proposed schedule.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is no delay. At Spring Budget, we announced the launch of the next phase of the Great British Nuclear (GBN) Small Modular Reactor selection process, allowing vendors to bid for potentially multi-billion-pound technology development contracts. It is important that this process is robust. Companies will have until June to submit their tender responses, at which point GBN will assess these and negotiate final contracts, with the goal of announcing successful bidders later in 2024. The aim is for the competition to be the fastest of its kind in the world.
Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to maximise the use of UK-manufactured components in small modular reactors in the UK.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Small Modular Reactor technology selection process, launched last year by Great British Nuclear, is an open and competitive process. The priority is to select those technologies best able to facilitate operational projects by the mid-2030s. As with any Government decision, this will be subject to value for money, relevant approvals, and technology readiness. This is an exciting time for nuclear and the scale of our ambition means there are likely to be significant supply chain opportunities associated with projects going forward.