Notice

AMR RD&D Phase A: Post-closure summary

Updated 30 January 2024

Background

In November 2020, as part of the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution (10 Point Plan), the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) was announced. The NZIP provides funding for low carbon technologies and systems, to help enable the UK to end its contribution to climate change.

Point 3 of the 10 Point Plan – Delivering New and Advanced Nuclear Power, announced the £385 million Advanced Nuclear Fund. With £215 million of funding towards the aspiration of building a first of a kind (FOAK) Small Modular Reactor (SMR), and £170 million of funding to build a demonstrator Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR), by the early 2030s.

Other relevant and supporting policy includes:

• Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener (October 2021)
  • set out policies and proposals to meet the legally binding Net Zero 2050 target
  • announced £120 million Future Nuclear Enabling Fund (FNEF) – to help mature potential nuclear projects, ahead of the expected government process to select the next nuclear projects
• British Energy Security Strategy (April 2022)
  • announced aims for 24GW nuclear by 2050
  • announced Great British Nuclear (GBN)
  • announced updated siting strategy
  • set out international collaboration framework to accelerate work on advanced nuclear technologies (ANT)

AMR RD&D

In April 2022, the Department (then the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)) announced the Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development, and Demonstration Programme (AMR RD&D). The overarching aim of the programme is to develop and demonstrate high temperature gas reactor (HTGR) technology to maintain the option for commercial HTGRs to support the Net Zero 2050 target and to develop UK owned intellectual property (IP). This would be achieved by demonstrating that HTGRs can produce high-temperature heat (>700°C), which could be used to decarbonise industrial sectors, including, for example, low carbon hydrogen production, sustainable aviation and maritime fuels, process heat for industrial and domestic use, and cost-competitive electricity generation.

A 3-phase approach to the overall AMR RD&D programme was announced, with funding and progress decisions made between each. The aims of each of the three phases are as follows:

1. Phase A aims to fund prospective reactor and fuel technology vendors to produce concept level plans for the development and deployment of a commercial HTGR demonstrator and provide initial plans on how a demonstrator would enable a fleet rollout to support Net Zero. Additionally, it includes funding for the UK regulators (Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency (EA)) to build their capability and readiness for regulation of a HTGR demonstrator.

2. Phase B aims to fund up to 2 prospective reactor vendors (via open competition) to develop a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED), in accordance with end-user requirements and a substantive market need. Additionally, projects are to carry out associated “no-regrets” enabling R&D, develop credible Phase C delivery plans, and to develop internal and supply chain skills and capability. Additionally, the UK Regulators will be funded to continue their upskilling, and to engage directly with the vendors throughout the programme to provide advice and guidance to de-risk the eventual regulatory approval process.

3. Phase C is subject to HMG decision making under the next spending review, and it aims to down-select one vendor from Phase B to undertake detailed site-specific design, permitting and licensing, and construction, commissioning, and initial operation of a HTGR demonstrator.

Phase A

Phase A ran from April 2022 to March 2023, during which the Department provided £2.5 million of funding, via Small Business Research Initiatives (SBRIs), for 6 pre-FEED studies across 2 key technology ‘lots’ – reactors and fuel, as well as the regulators, who engaged with all proposals. Phase A concluded on time and on budget, with regulatory engagement on all proposals. Phase A provided the Department with information to support the development of advanced nuclear technologies in the UK and supported the development of Phase B of the programme, particularly by providing improved estimates of the time and budget requirements for the design and build of a HTGR demonstrator.

Lot 1 – Reactor Demonstration

During phase A, the following 4 organisations were awarded contracts of up to £500k to produce pre-FEED studies for developing advanced modular HTGR technologies:

• EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Ltd.’s project focussed on end user requirements and determined that the Hartlepool Heat Hub concept is feasible, and Hartlepool could be an appropriate site for a HTGR. Another key outcome was the improved collaboration between AMR vendors and EDF
• National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) coordinated with Jacobs and Japan Atomic Energy Authority (JAEA), which leveraged the proven HTGR design from Japan and began the work required to adapt this to a UK market and regulatory environment. The project developed excellent relationships with JAEA and with UK and international supply chains, and led to a successful Phase B bid
• the U-Battery project refined the view for market needs associated with a U-Battery technology and of its potential end-users and identified an appropriate unit size to fit the UK industry demand. This project also helped develop the supply chain and supported 7 graduate roles working on the design
• USNC leveraged their US Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) design to develop a HTGR that would fit the needs of the UK market. This has allowed USNC to increase their presence in the UK and develop relationships with the UK supply chain and end-users, ultimately leading to a successful Phase B bid

Lot 2 – Fuel Demonstration

The following 2 organisations were awarded contracts to produce pre-FEED studies for developing Coated Particle Fuel (CPF) for HTGR technologies as part of Phase A of the AMR RD&D Programme:

• National Nuclear Laboratory’s project brought together key stakeholders, including JAEA and Urenco, to develop CPF capability. The project developed the initial concept designs for fuel facilities and highlighted the key R&D requirements for future phases, in addition to the need for skills development and retention, ultimately leading to a successful bid into the next stage of the programme
• Springfields Fuels Limited aimed to determine the most effective route for the secure and reliable supply of CPF, in collaboration with Urenco Ltd., to support the range of potential HTGR technologies which may come forward in the UK. This study focussed on UCO­ kernel (uranium oxycarbide) tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) as the standard CPF fuel type for contemporary HTGR designs, but will design the facility for maximum flexibility to manufacture a wide range of variations on this fuel.

The Springfields project developed a pre-FEED design and developed a floorplan and site location for their fuel production facility.

Regulators

To support Phase A, the nuclear regulators, the ONR and the EA, were allocated £467k and £248k respectively to continue to build and maintain their capability on advanced nuclear technologies.

Lessons learned and feedback

The plans produced in Phase A highlighted several issues relating to technology, regulation, siting, and policy that could delay the target for an operational demonstrator by the early 2030s, and thus delay decarbonisation of UK industry.

Technology development areas

Phase A identified technology development pathways that need to be addressed to meet the aim of having an operational demonstrator by the early 2030s. Whilst each project identified a specific set of technology challenges that are unique to them, some common discoveries and trends were identified:

Lot 1 – Reactor demonstration: The key focus areas that require further research, development, and innovation identified for the UK reactor demonstration are:

• development and validation of reactor modelling codes
• improving reliability using condition-based monitoring
• standardisation of design codes, standards, and procedures (including alignment of international codes with the UK regulatory expectations)
• development and deployment of advanced manufacturing methods to be utilised in construction of the demonstrator
• graphite modelling and validation
• instrumentation and control development
• component testing in hot helium

Lot 2 – Fuel demonstration: The key focus areas that require further research, development, and innovation for a UK CPF facility were identified as:

• accelerating the Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) of CPF in the UK
• concept design of a pilot fuel manufacturing facility in the UK
• supply chain readiness to position the UK to react to changes in CPF demand

Key findings

A number of areas were also identified by the projects for public and private sectors to accelerate deployment of advanced nuclear technologies, these are split into categories detailed below:

Policy enablers

These are the key areas where policy needs to be developed to enable a HTGR demonstrator by the 2030s.

• all reactor vendors raised the process for siting a demonstrator HTGR as critical path to achieving deployment by the early 2030s. Current processes for siting new nuclear are not aligned with HTGRs, which are smaller than current reactors (in terms of both land area and power output) and a potentially improved radiological risk profile. Streamlining the processes to approve construction and operation of an HTGR, including licensing, environmental permitting, and planning, could accelerate deployment, including the option of deploying on an existing licensed site

Learnings

These are the key learnings from industry that were realised as a result of the Phase A programme.

• support in developing, or securing, an organisation to act as a licensee and operator for construction and operation of a demonstrator was noted as key to the success of future phases of the programme
• the benefits of locating a demonstration reactor adjacent to a current nuclear power station were highlighted, including the skilled workforce, grid and heat distribution connections, and wealth of local customers for low-carbon heat

Opportunities

These are the key areas where the UK can leverage skills and experience to develop a HTGR demonstrator to help achieve net zero and preserve energy security.

• the importance of nuclear fuel supply routes to support a proposed HTGR demonstrator is crucial. Pilot scale overseas options are present for advanced fuel, however, domestic design and manufacture of CPF could be essential for energy security for advanced nuclear technologies, and suggests a market for such could emerge
• availability of data from historical operation of gas-cooled reactors in the UK was highlighted as being highly valuable to a HTGR programme