Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to help support the molten salt reactor sector.

In 2020 the Government established a £385m Advanced Nuclear Fund (ANF) to support the development of Small and Advanced Modular Reactors (SMRs and AMRs).

The ANF includes support for an AMR Research, Development & Demonstration (RD&D) programme which seeks to demonstrate an AMR by the early 2030s to understand the potential of advanced reactors.

The Government decided to focus the AMR RD&D programme on demonstrating High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs). The Government supports the development of all types of advanced nuclear technologies including molten salt reactors as part of wider policy activities, such as access to regulation.