NTS will co-fund and deliver a multi-year programme of work alongside government and nuclear sector partners to develop the key technologies, capabilities and assets required to transport HALEU materials for use in the UK and export overseas.
The programme includes designing and developing new transport packages for HALEU products; ensuring appropriate road and maritime transport capacity exists to meet future domestic and international demand; and co-ordinating the UK nuclear sector’s readiness for these changes.
This comes after the government announced in May that it was awarding Urenco £196m to build a uranium enrichment facility at its Capenhurst plant in Cheshire. The facility will have a capacity to produce 10 tonnes of HALEU a year by 2031.
Minister for Energy Security & Net Zero, Lord Hunt, said: “Developing our own advanced nuclear fuel gives the UK a competitive edge in the global nuclear industry, as part of our plans to become a clean energy superpower. “As well as ensuring the UK supply chain is fully equipped to transport HALEU fuel, this funding will boost our energy security and reduce the world’s reliance on Russian fuel, all while providing good quality jobs and bolstering economic growth in Capenhurst and across the wider North West.”
