Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of working alongside development companies to make the establishment of new nuclear projects a faster process.

In April Great British Nuclear (GBN) launched the first phase of the competitive process to select the best Small Modular Reactors technologies in the form of a market engagement exercise. The second phase – the down-selection process - will be launched in the summer, with an ambition to decide on the leading technologies by autumn.

The market engagement exercise will help GBN to improve its understanding of market capability and technical offering of the full vendor community, the financial position of potential projects, and potential delivery models.

The Government will provide co-funding that will be deployed by GBN and will work with successful bidders on ensuring the right financing and site arrangements are in place, in line with its commitment to take two Final Investment Decisions next parliament.