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.

COP Climate Negotiations: Cities

Lord Moynihan Excerpts

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Spellar (Lab)]

My Lords, will there not be greater support for these measures from the citizens of those cities and towns in the UK if they can see the benefit coming through to them in their work? What steps are the Government, and those towns and cities when they are commissioning work, taking to ensure that, whenever possible, the work is sourced from the United Kingdom, unlike so many cities that are, for example, buying buses from China with all the other attendant issues?

[Lord Moynihan (Con)]

My Lords—

[Noble Lords]

Oh!

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Moynihan (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interests as non-executive chair of Amey and Acteon. In returning to the Front Bench, I pay respect to the Minister’s outstanding parliamentary contribution and extensive knowledge of energy and net-zero policies. I have no hesitation in asking him whether he agrees with the Prime Minister’s warning at COP 30 that the “consensus is gone” on fighting climate change? Does the Minister agree that it is now time to pause to reflect that last week, on the bitterly cold day of 5 January when the UK generated 47 gigawatts of electricity, over 52% had to come from gas because the wind was not blowing, and that fully developing our own offshore natural gas reserves, akin to the strategy adopted in Norway, would not only increase our energy security but be environmentally preferable and cheaper for the people living in British cities than relying heavily on imported LNG from the Middle East and the US?

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

I warmly welcome the noble Lord to his place as the opposition spokesperson as far as DESNZ is concerned. He has had a distinguished career in energy, being a former Energy Minister himself, and a distinguished business career in renewables. I look forward to having a very fruitful and constructive dialogue with him over the next period, as the energy discussions move forward.

As far as his question is concerned, I say gently that last year had the highest-ever number of days that were powered completely by renewable energy—more than 80 days—so his concern about particular days being powered by mainly non-renewable power should be set against that overall trajectory, which will continue, particularly with the results of AR7 that have just come out today.