High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors

Lord Moynihan Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

The point raised about the heat production of HTGRs is very important. This is not just about the electricity; it is about the heat and what can be done with it. It is why we are keen to encourage advanced modular reactors in the UK. There is also an opportunity to make them much smaller and to site them in different places, which will free up the link directly to industrial purposes. The advanced nuclear framework lays this out very clearly and encourages the private sector and others to join in putting forward new technologies.

[Lord Moynihan (Con)]

My Lords, given that the Minister has mentioned new technologies, is he aware that the Japanese high-temperature gas-cooled reactors operating at 950 degrees—he mentioned the importance of heat—produce hydrogen at scale and at reasonable cost? Would it not be beneficial to co-operate further with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency on multi-purpose nuclear heat applications, especially hydrogen production, using its high-temperature engineering test reactor, since the low-cost production of energy should be our overall policy objective?

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

We have had two collaborations with the Japanese over the last couple of years, one on HTGRs and one on coated fuels, and we have an ongoing one on robotics. The point made about heat production is crucial. The Japanese, through our collaboration with them through UKNNL, have the demonstrator HTGR ready to go in 2028, specifically focused on hydrogen. We will keep in close contact with them over that, because that production of green hydrogen through nuclear is a very interesting opportunity.