Notice

HALEU deconversion competition: scheme guidance

Published 1 July 2024

Introduction

Background

The next generation of nuclear reactors will have different characteristics to those that have come before. Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs), which are smaller than traditional Light Water Reactors (LWR), and capable of operating at higher temperatures, are expected to make a significant contribution to decarbonisation as governments and companies look to use these reactors to decarbonise broader elements of their energy systems. These new designs will require uranium at a higher enrichment level, up to 19.75%, called High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU).

Currently, Russia is the only country that can supply commercially viable HALEU.

A secure and resilient supply of HALEU is essential to unleash the benefits of AMR technologies on our path to Net Zero. To support this The Department announced up to £300m for the establishment of a domestic HALEU capability.

The HALEU programme aims to deliver a HALEU capability in the UK by 2031, to support AMR and research reactors in the UK and overseas. This will include HALEU enrichment, development of deconversion as well as transport capabilities and relevant regulatory guidelines. 

In May 2024, the UK government announced the first tranche of this funding, awarding £196m to Urenco to deliver a first of a kind HALEU enrichment capability on a commercial scale, targeting first operations in 2031.

Alignment with The Department programmes

The HALEU programme is aligned with the AMR RD&D programme of work which began last year. Under this programme, four pre-FEED studies have been awarded to projects developing advanced modular high temperature gas reactor (HTGR) technologies, and two organisations were awarded contracts to produce pre-FEED studies for developing Coated Particle Fuel (CPF) for HTGR technologies.

We welcome any organisation making a bid to engage with the HTGR market to understand demand in the HALEU supply chain and include information to this effect within your application.

Competition Objectives

Grant funding of up to £70 million is available to support the development of a commercial HALEU deconversion facility in the UK. Industry co-funding will be required at a minimum rate of 70:30 (government: industry). The project will support the growth of the front-end HALEU supply chain used by the UK nuclear industry whilst rebuilding scarce skills. Specifically, this grant is intended to support:

• the design and build of a commercial-scale oxide HALEU deconversion facility
• the design of a commercial-scale metal HALEU deconversion facility

The successful Applicant will be expected to collaborate with HALEU delivery partners and across the wider HALEU supply chain, this expectation is captured in the example grant terms and conditions provided in Annex A. This may include collaboration with the Nuclear National Laboratory (NNL) which is being considered for funding under the HALEU Programme. If successful the NNL will be utilising HALEU grant funding to build UK skills and capability in oxide and metal deconversion via a deconversion test rig and associated R&D programme, which could support the successful Applicant. If the NNL project goes ahead, we would anticipate that the successful Applicant would work with NNL to derisk and optimise their plant design and facility operations during the course of the project.

We welcome and encourage you to consider options that will best support delivery of this type of collaboration, such as consortia, partnering or sub-contracting where appropriate.

Objective 1: Design and build of an oxide deconversion facility.

The application must include a proposal to design, build, and commission a commercial-scale oxide HALEU deconversion facility, to be operational by 2031 in the UK. The facility should have an initial capacity to process at least 10,000 kgU per year but should be designed to allow for future expansion of production up to at least 30,000 kgU per year. The facility should also permit the future inclusion of a metal deconversion line in the event of market growth. The Applicant must include a detailed plan for how deconverted HALEU in both oxide and metal forms would be packaged and stored following production.

Objective 2: Detailed design of a metal deconversion facility.

The application must include, at a minimum, a proposal for the detailed design of a commercial-scale metal HALEU deconversion facility, with a minimum capacity of 5,000 kgU per year. Within the budget and time limits of the project, applications will be assessed on how far along the design process they will be able to progress, with additional scoring awarded to any bids that are able to go beyond detailed design. Applicants must reach at least detailed design, with the appropriate associated Hazard and Operability Analysis (HAZOP) and safety case documentation. The oxide deconversion facility should be designed to maximise co-location benefits in the event that the metal deconversion facility is built.

Important Points to Note and Rules for the HALEU Deconversion Competition

1. Any person or entity may apply (subject to the procedures set out in this Guidance) for this grant.
2. Notwithstanding the criteria set out here, awards from the HALEU Deconversion Competition are entirely at The Department’s discretion. Applications that do not meet the criteria set out in this Guidance will not be entitled to receive an award. Even where an application does satisfy the criteria there is no automatic entitlement to an award of funding in any amount.
3. Capitalised terms used in this Guidance have the meanings given to those terms in this Guidance.
4. Failure to meet timescales stated in this Guidance or otherwise set by The Department may result in an application being rejected / disqualified from the process.
5. The Department will not be responsible for any costs incurred in the preparation of any application, whether or not it is successful.
6. The Department reserves the right not to accept any application or make any grant award and reserves the right to cancel the HALEU Deconversion Competition before it has been fully utilised or at any time before any Grant Funding Agreement is entered in to.
7. The Department reserves the right not to consider an application further if an Applicant refuses to, or is unable to, disclose information requested.
8. This is a discretionary grant. In determining whether an application is successful The Department will take into account information from this process as well as any other information it deems relevant that impacts on the objectives of this process.
9. Without prejudice to the points above, The Department reserves the right to reject or disqualify any application where grant funding would be (for any reason) unlawful or not compliant with its statutory powers.

Application and Assessment Process

In this document, ‘Applicant’ refers to either a single organisation or the lead Applicant of a consortium.

Applicants must ensure they have read this guidance document in its entirety before applying. If Applicants have any general questions about the application process or about the application documentation, please email HALEU@energysecurity.gov.uk.  

The application and assessment process consists of the following stages:

• In Stage 1 the application window will be open from Monday 1 July until 9 September at 12pm BST. Applicants can submit questions of clarification until July 19. The Department will publish these questions and answers on gov.uk before the application window closes.
• Applicants will need to email HALEU@energysecurity.gov.uk with an expression of interest to gain access to the application portal. Expression of interest should be sent by 19 July 5pm BST. The application portal is an online portal where you will need to submit your final application by 9 September 12pm BST.
• In Stage 2, applications will be assessed against the eligibility criteria. This assessment will include financial due diligence.
• In Stage 3, applications deemed to be eligible will be evaluated against the detailed technical and deliverability, strategic, economic and social value criteria.
• In Stage 4, The Department will conduct further in depth financial and organisational due diligence checks on the Applicant. Upon successful completion, a grant offer letter will be sent to the successful Applicant.

Applications from Consortia

Applications will be accepted from consortia and partners, as well as individual organisations. In the case of an application from a consortium, only one application from the lead partner is required. The application must outline the proposed role that each consortium partner will play in executing the project.

Applications should set out the organisation and governance of the consortium.

It is anticipated that The Department will only enter into direct arrangements with the lead Applicant of a consortium, with the lead Applicant responsible for the dispersal of funds, management of consortium partners and recovery of any misused funds by any consortium partners. The lead Applicant should therefore be of suitable size and capability to represent a viable entity to lead on projects.

The Department recognises that arrangements in relation to consortia may (within limits) be subject to future change. Applicants should therefore set out arrangements as currently envisaged. Applicants should note that, should they be successful in applying for funding as the lead Applicant of a consortium, any future proposed change in relation to membership of that consortium must be submitted to The Department for approval.

Stage 1: Application window open and preparation window

The timeline for applications is detailed below. The Department will not accept applications submitted after the advertised deadline. The Department retains the right to extend the application deadline, and other milestones, at any time and will communicate any changes via gov.uk in advance.

A workshop on how Applicants should complete the economic spreadsheet will be run in July please email HALEU@energysecurity.gov.uk for details and if you are interested in a session.

Milestone	Date
Application and clarification window opens	Monday 1 July 2024 12pm BST
Stakeholder workshop for filling out economic assessment	July – date to be confirmed
Expression of Interest deadline	Friday 19 July 2024 5pm BST
Clarification Question window closes	Friday 19 July 2024 5pm BST
Responses to Clarification Questions published	Friday 26 July 2024
Application window closes	Monday 9 September 2024 12pm BST

Prospective Applicants will need to email HALEU@energysecurity.gov.uk by Friday 19 July 5pm BST to be given access to the HALEU Deconversion Competition’s online application portal, to complete their application. If applying on behalf of a consortium, the covering email should include the names and contact details of the other organisations involved.

This online application portal should be used to submit and upload all required documents to support your application, as detailed in this guidance by Monday 9 September 12pm BST. 

The information provided will be handled in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 which is the UK’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Department will hold your data for the period necessary for evaluation, monitoring and reviewing the proposed project against the objectives and benefits it is aiming to achieve.

Applicants will be notified once applications have been received by The Department and can expect to receive further updates once the application window has closed. Assessment of applications will only begin once the application window has closed.

The Department reserves the right to amend the application documents at any time prior to the deadline for receipt of applications. Any such amendment will be numbered and dated. Where amendments are significant, The Department may at its discretion extend the deadline for receipt of applications

The Department reserves the right to cancel this competition without notice at any time and will not be liable for any costs incurred by Applicants during any stage of the process.

Applicants should also note that, in the event an application is considered to be fundamentally unacceptable on a key issue, regardless of its other merits, that application may be rejected.

By issuing this invitation, The Department is not bound in any way and does not have to accept the lowest or any application.

The Department reserves the right to accept only a portion of any application unless the Applicant expressly stipulates otherwise in their application.

Application Cost Liability

The Department will not be responsible for any costs incurred in the preparation of any application, whether successful or not.

Requests for clarification

If Applicants have any questions about the application and/or assessment process, they should submit their questions in writing to HALEU@energysecurity.gov.uk clearly marked with “Request for Clarification” in the subject line, as soon as possible but no later than Friday July 19 5pm BST. Questions submitted after this deadline may not be answered.

The Department will aim to answer any questions which, in the judgement of officials, are of material significance. Answers will be publicly available through an anonymised clarification Q&A document published on gov.uk.

If an Applicant considers that their question is confidential, they should make this expressly clear in the subject title of their email. Marking a question as confidential does not mean that The Department will withhold the question and response from other Applicants or potential Applicants; it simply means that The Department may redact or edit the response, if appropriate.

The Department will not provide advice on the content or structure of an application. The onus is on Applicants to read and understand the requirements set out in this guidance document before submitting an application.

During the evaluation process, The Department may require bidders to provide further information or seek clarification in relation to their submission. The Applicant must confirm receipt of such requests and shall provide a response within 5 working days unless otherwise agreed by The Department.

Documentation required

The table below summarises the requirements for each stage of the assessment. More detail on these requirements is provided later in this guidance document, including the annexes.

Section	Required documentation	Evaluation approach
Eligibility	Completed eligibility questionnaire / checks	Pass/Fail
Reporting	Organogram showing Applicant, immediate/ultimate parent, and group structure and governance arrangements Consortia arrangements (if any), members, roles, governance arrangements, and structure Financial accounts (Applicant, parent, group) and forecasts	Not evaluated (used for due diligence and pre-award checks)
A	Technical and deliverability assessment (40%): Project Summary Project Execution Plan Technological Approach Site License Waste Management and Decommissioning Resourcing Procurement RAID Log	Scored 1-10
B	Strategic assessment (25%): Commercial Plan	Scored 1-10
C	Economic assessment (25%): Completed Economic spreadsheet Any required evidence to support a Value for Money (VfM) assessment	Scored 1-25
D	Social value assessment (10%): Method statement Timed project plan and process	Scored 1-10
Declarations	Completed declarations: Statement of non-collusion Conflict of interest Form of bid

The onus will be on Applicants to provide all the required information and to answer all the questions within their application, in full within the allocated page limits. Applications that are incomplete or contain incorrect information may be rejected. Applications that do not meet the benchmark for any of the above assessments will not proceed to the next stage and the organisation will be notified.

The Department will accept documents in Microsoft Office or PDF document formats. Images may be provided in .jpg or .png format where appropriate and documents must use no smaller than size 11 font.

Stage 2: Eligibility Checks

When the application window closes, The Department will undertake completeness checks on all applications to ensure that all the required information and accompanying documentation have been returned in full and that all relevant documents are accessible and legible.

All applications will initially be considered against the competition eligibility criteria. To be eligible for funding, proposals must meet all of the following eligibility criteria. These criteria are pass/fail and if a proposal fails any criterion, it may be removed from the assessment process. The Applicant will be notified as soon as possible once the decision has been made to fail the application. Applicants should self-certify that they meet all the following eligibility criteria.

The Department shall have the right to disqualify any Applicant who fails to provide a full response, or which does not return all of the fully completed documentation and declarations requested as part of the application process. The Department shall also have the right to disqualify any Applicant if it later becomes aware of any omission or misrepresentation within the Applicant response to any question.

Applicants’ eligibility

Applicant details

Applicants must provide the information set out below on the structure and governance of the Applicant. The Applicant should engage with officials if any confusion arises on the scope of this section.

Applicants must provide the following information:

1. full name of the organisation
2. UK company registration number (of the consortium lead)
3. registered address
4. company website
5. company NACE code (NACE refers to the European Classification of Economic Activities)
6. total number of FTE employed by the Applicant (please see below for the definition of FTE)
7. the latest statutory accounts covering 3 years of results (full set with notes) for the Applicant and ultimate parent
8. if the Applicant’s most recent statutory accounts are more than 6 months old, Applicants should provide draft statutory accounts or management accounts. This is not necessary for the ultimate parent

The Applicant must state how many people are employed in the entire Group. This information is required from all consortium partners as well. FTE refers to the number of Full Time Equivalent employees (FTE). Please note an FTE job is one of 30 or more hours per week. If the role requires any additional hours this still only counts as 1 FTE. Two part time jobs of 15 hours or more count as equivalent to one full time job. Any part time jobs of 15 hours up to 30 hours should be stated as 0.5 of an FTE.

Applicants must provide the project director’s contact details, including their name, telephone number and email address. Applicants must also provide the same details for a lead contact as well as an alternative contact in the event that the lead contact is unavailable.

Applicants must provide information on whether the Applicant or members of the consortium has received other public sector funding in the last three years including the following:

1. details on the name of fund or scheme that provided the funding
2. the name of the body or The Department that awarded the funding
3. how much funding was awarded
4. when the award was made
5. any existing conditions from this award that you are still committed to

Applicants are also required to answer questions relating to the Windsor Framework in this section.

UK registered

The successful Applicant (i.e., a sole Applicant or lead member of a consortium) which enters into a Grant Funding Agreement must be a company registered in the UK under the Companies Act 2006 (CA06), unless the organisation is a UK public body. Applicants must confirm that they are already registered in the UK under the CA06, or able to make the necessary arrangements to do so by 31st December 2024 if their application is successful.

Offences

Applicants must confirm that neither the Applicant (or none of the consortium partners if a consortium), nor any of its/their directors or officers, have been convicted of any of the offences listed under regulation 57(1) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This also applies to any parent companies (as defined by section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006) of the Applicant and any consortium member and to directors and officers of those parent companies.

Sanctions

Applicants must confirm that neither the Applicant (or each of the consortium partners if a consortium), nor any of its/their directors or officers, are subject to United Kingdom, United Nations or European Union sanctions. This also applies to any parent companies (as defined by section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006) of the Applicant and any consortium member and to directors and officers of those parent companies.

Solvency

Applicants must confirm that the Applicant (or each of the consortium partners if a consortium) is not in the situation described in Article 57(8)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (it is not the subject of insolvency or winding-up proceedings etc., or in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure under the laws and regulations of any state). This also applies to any parent companies (as defined by section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006) of the Applicant and any consortium member and to directors and officers of those parent companies.

Applicants must notify The Department in writing of any Occasions of Tax Non-Compliance and any litigation in which it is involved that is in connection with any Occasion of Tax Non-Compliance.

Applicants should note that financial due diligence will be carried out both on the Applicant and the ultimate parent company. A Parental Guarantee from your ultimate parent company or a guarantee from a bank with an investment grade credit rating will need to be provided by the successful Applicant. Failure to provide a satisfactory guarantee will result in the Grant Funding Agreement not being issued.

Non-Proliferation

Applicants must confirm that the Applicant (or each of the consortium partners if a consortium), and all entities in the upward group structure are associated with a country that has both signed and ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT) and one of:

• a Voluntary Offer Agreement (VOA)
• a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA)
• a modified Small Quantities Protocol (mSQP)
• an Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The AP should be universal and supplementary to whichever of the three primary safeguards agreements the country has with the IAEA

Applicants must also confirm that the Applicant (or each of the consortium partners if a consortium), and all entities in the upward group structure are not associated with a country which is subject to United Nations, European Union, or United Kingdom sanctions due to infringements of the NPT, their CSA, or an associated Additional Protocol. In this context ‘associated with’ is defined as incorporated in, operating in, or owned (directly, indirectly or partially) by nationals of the country where sanctions apply.

Project end date

The project deliverables must be submitted to The Department, by March 2030. To note the funding period for this grant will be FY25-26 to FY29-30.

Alternative public funding

Applicants must indicate if they, their associated entities, or their consortium partners are participating in any similar activities that are funded elsewhere by the government, and/or another public authority in the UK, and/or another government.

In particular, proposals must state whether any deconversion project deliverables are already being funded by or are in the process of applying for funding from, other DESNZ programmes, including but not limited to the Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) Research, Development and Demonstration Programme, the Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme (AFCP), the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund (FNEF) and Nuclear Fuel Fund (NFF). If an Applicant has received funding from another DESNZ programme to cover proposed deconversion project deliverables, the application will be removed from the competition.

Finance

Applications must specify the total cost of the project, and the amount of funding being sought. Co-funding of at least 30% will be expected from the Applicant. Please note that the grant award will be paid in arrears.

The proposed project must be within the specified cost limits for funding. The Department will award up to a maximum of £70 million to the successful Applicant. The Department reserves the right to vary the amount of funding awarded.

Eligible project costs

Eligibility requirements for costs are detailed in the table below. The Department will expect to see detailed underlying assumptions for all costs and explanations of how and why they are eligible. The Department reserves the right to ask for costs it deems ineligible to be removed from project costs.

Fair market value	Costs must be at ‘fair market value’. Profit must not be included (including profit within labour costs).
Directly attributable	Costs must be directly attributable to the project.
R&D expenditure	Costs must be capable of meeting R&D capital requirements set out in The Department Consolidated Budgeting Guidance
Grant period	Costs must be both incurred and defrayed within the grant period FY25-26 to FY29-30.
International accounting standards	Costs must be as detailed by UK FRS 1024 and/or international accounting and financial reporting standards.

Additionality

Applications must provide strong evidence that the project would not be taken forward, would otherwise take place outside the UK or would be taken forwards at a much slower rate, without The Department funding. Applications must also demonstrate that the exact amount of funding requested is the minimum necessary to enable the project to proceed. This will be assessed further during the due diligence process.

Terms and conditions

Applicants must agree to standard grant terms and conditions. An example of these has been provided in Annex A.

Self-certification

If Applicants have self-certified that the project meets the eligibility criteria, but cross-checks with other parts of the application leads The Department’s assessors to believe that a project is not eligible, it may be excluded from further evaluation.

Public Sector Equalities Duty

To fulfil requirements of the Equality Act (2010), The Department is required to have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).

Applicants must provide information on the company’s proposed mechanisms for monitoring protected characteristics, and how the project will support the three aims of the Public Sector Equalities Duty, which includes having due regard to the need to:

1.  Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010.
2. Advance quality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.
3. Foster good relations between people who have a share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

An anonymised breakdown of the Applicant’s, and consortium partners’ (if applicable) workforce for each protected characteristic outlined under the Equality Act is required. Supporting information, such as the Applicant’s company Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) commitments and targets, should also be included.

Stage 3: Evaluation

Eligible applications will be evaluated against a set of pre-defined criteria comprising four broad assessment strands – technical and deliverability, strategic, economic, and social value. Each strand is made up of a set of criteria and is weighted as follows:

• Technical and Deliverability Assessment – 40% of overall score
• Strategic Assessment – 25% of overall score
• Economic Assessment – 25% of overall score
• Social Value Assessment – 10% of overall score

For the Technical and Deliverability, Strategic, and Social Value Assessments, eligible applications will be assessed and scored from 1-10. To be considered eligible, applications will need to score a minimum of 5 for the Technical and Deliverability, Strategic, and Social Value Assessments.

Eligible proposals will also be put through an Economic Assessment, focused on value for money and will receive a score from 0-25. This assessment will be conducted separately to other strands. For the economic assessment, Applicants will need to score a minimum of 15 to be considered eligible. To note, if the bid does not pass the minimum scoring threshold, an Economic Assessment will not be carried out.

The scores will have a weighting factor applied and summed to give a final score out of 100. The below table is an example of what scoring would look like for a hypothetical application:

Section	Score	Weighting Factor	Weighted Score
Technical and Deliverability	6 / 10	4	24
Strategic	8 / 10	2.5	20
Economic	18 / 25	1	18
Social Value	9 / 10	1	9
Final score			71 / 100

Each of these criteria have sub-criteria to indicate what the assessment panel will consider when awarding scores, which can be found in Sections A-D at the end of this Guidance document.

To achieve the highest scores, proposals must provide high quality responses that fully answer all parts of the criterion (i.e. addresses all the sub-criteria), are detailed and fully evidenced and justify any claims or assertions made.

Score	Completeness	Level of detail	Evidence/justification
1	Not answered	Superficial	Not evidenced/justified
2	Major omissions	Superficial	Lacking evidence/justification
3	Significant omissions	Superficial	Lacking evidence/justification
4	Significant omissions	Superficial	Partially evidenced/justified
5	Significant omissions	Reasonably detailed	Partially evidenced/justified
6	Minor omissions	Reasonably detailed	Partially evidenced/justified
7	Minor omissions	Reasonably detailed	Mostly evidenced/justified
8	No omissions	Reasonably detailed	Mostly evidenced/justified
9	No omissions	Very detailed	Mostly evidenced/justified
10	No omissions	Very detailed	Fully evidenced/justified or going beyond the scope required

Assessments will be carried out by The Department officials or by independent third parties appointed by The Department with relevant expertise. The scores for each assessment will be moderated by an evaluation panel chaired by a Departmental official. Applications that score above the minimum threshold, in each criterion and overall, will be ranked for consideration for funding.

Before making a final decision, The Department may, at its discretion, contact Applicants directly to request clarification of the information provided in their applications. It remains the responsibility of the Applicant to ensure that all required information and documentation is included. Applicants will typically be given no longer than five working days to respond to requests for clarification.

A final decision on awarding funding will be made by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Technical and Deliverability Assessment (40%)

Full details of the assessment and scoring criteria can be found in Section A at the end of this document. The objective of the technical and deliverability assessment is to assess the technological approach proposed for both metal and oxide deconversion and the level of experience and suitability of the Applicant in undertaking and delivering deconversion activities. This section will cover the Applicant’s delivery plan, with additional details on site licensing, waste management and decommissioning, technology scalability and others.

Strategic Assessment (25%)

Full details of the assessment and scoring criteria can be found in Section B at the end of this document. The objective of the Strategic Assessment is to test the commercial viability of the proposed project, particularly how it will lead to the deployment of a commercially viable HALEU deconversion facility and how it will integrate with the nuclear fuel supply chain used in the UK.

Economic Assessment (25%)

Full details of the assessment and scoring criteria can be found in Section C at the end of this document. The objective of the Economic Assessment is to evaluate the value for money (VfM) of the project and maximise benefits in line with Green Book methodology.

The Economic Assessment will comprise of a VfM assessment, including the appraisal of research impacts and benefits. Applications will be scored on the VfM presented for the project, which takes into account the breakdown of the eligible cost schedule, cost justifications, benefits and supporting evidence.

This criterion will be assessed through a separate spreadsheet (Annex C) and will be evaluated by a different team to those conducting the Technical and Deliverability, Strategic, and Social Value assessments.

Social Value Assessment (10%)

Full details of the assessment and scoring criteria can be found in Section D at the end of this document.

The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires public authorities to consider:

• how what is proposed might improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the relevant area
• how the authority might act with a view to securing that improvement

Under the Social Value Model, a minimum overall weighting for social value of 10% is mandated. For this grant, The Department has chosen to evaluate Applicants on how their organisation and their bid will act to tackle economic inequality in the following way:

• create employment and training opportunities particularly for those who face barriers to employment and/or who are located in deprived areas, and for people in industries with known skills shortages or in high growth sectors

Stage 4: Final decisions on award

Embargo – decisions on award

Please note that there will be an embargo placed upon the details of the shortlisted project until The Department has made the formal offer of grant funding announcement. The Applicant must not publish any outcomes of the assessment process without The Department’s express permission. Where an Applicant does so, it may jeopardise their continued role in the process and The Department may disqualify or reject any Applicant that breaches this requirement.

Decision on the successful applicant

After the conclusion of final checks, senior officials will be presented with the full results of all assessments to make a final decision regarding the sole successful Applicant. Ahead of the final grant offer a successful Applicant will need to complete final checks which will include due diligence, evaluation, PSED considerations and subsidy control processes. The final funding award will be subject to the approval of the Secretary of State and successful completion of these checks.

Due diligence

Prior to the grant offer stage, The Department will conduct financial and organisational due diligence checks on the successful Applicant and its application. The successful application would be subject to a further in-depth due diligence. The purpose of this due diligence exercise includes, but is not limited to, confirmation of:

• the final amount of the award which will be subject to the evidence you provide and will be the minimum necessary for the project to proceed
• the support being compatible with relevant subsidy control requirements.
• evidence to demonstrate that the level of grant requested is the minimum necessary to enable the project to go ahead.  The deliverability of project investment and employment outputs as set out in the application form
• the sources and uses of Project funding
• the satisfactory financial standing of, the applying company, and of your Parent company (if you have one), their ability to finance the project, and to provide a satisfactory Parental Undertaking and Guarantee

The specific scope of the due diligence is determined on a case-by-case basis and the speed at which the due diligence can proceed is largely determined by Applicant’s ability to provide The Department with the required information and detail.

The successful Applicant will be required to provide additional information (examples of which are below) when contacted by The Department, and/or to clarify material provided in the bid proposal. The Applicant must be willing to dedicate sufficient resource to assist in completing this process. The Applicant will need to provide full returns to requests for information for this process within five working days of receiving requests.

The Department reserves the right to reject application if the requirements of the due diligence checks are not met or if the checks identify any discrepancies with the information provided that are deemed unacceptable. The Department may also decide against awarding funding, or suspend grant payments, if The Department deems that the Applicant has failed to meet the requirements of a funding agreement for a current or previous public funding award.

Below is an example of the types of information you will be required to submit as part of the due diligence process. This is not exhaustive.

Capital investment deliverables:

• detailed analysis of project costs
• supporting evidence for costs/estimates used including third party evidence if available (e.g. supplier quotes)
• evidence that capitalisation of these costs is consistent with the company’s accounting policies and practices
• actual historical cost data for past capital investment projects that involved similar capex

Board minutes:

• the approval of the capital investment project (subject to grant approval)

Accounting and investment policies - Details of the company accounting policies for Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE) and investment appraisal framework. These should detail:

• depreciation
• useful economic life of PPE assets, including those associated with the capital investment project
• investment appraisal framework (which is consistent with that per the group if applicable)
• capital expenditure policy

Alternative investment decision in absence of grant funding. Explanation and underlying rationale for any alternative capital investment decision that would be made in the absence of grant funding. These could include:

• whether the capital investment would go ahead without public support
• whether the capital investment would go ahead with other public support
• whether the capital investment would go ahead outside of the UK
• whether the capital investment would go ahead in another part of the UK
• whether the capital investment would go ahead on a reduced scale (please specify the level of reduction and why)
• whether the capital investment would go ahead on a slower timescale (please specify the length of the delay and why)

Financial information deliverables

Cashflow and financial forecasts. Cashflow/working capital and financial forecasts that demonstrate:

• viability of the project
• working capital and funding requirements over the project life along with confirmation of how these will be funded
• the gap in project funding that will be met by the grant amount being applied for and the period of time in which the grant funding is required.
• details of what costs the grant will be used for to ensure the viability of the project e.g. purchase of equipment

It should be noted that the forecasting should take account for variables such as inflation.

Investment appraisal model:

• model that has been used to demonstrate the viability of the investment e.g. NPV calculation, IRR etc. If applicable there should be evidence that demonstrates the investment appraisal methodology is in line with group processes and methodologies.
• FX rates (if applicable)
• details of FX rates used in the project forecasting and demonstration that these are consistent with those used at group level (if applicable)
• information on historical forecasting accuracy
• evidence on the reliability of previous forecasts on similar projects

Other

Employment outputs (if applicable):

• payroll records to evidence the baseline starting jobs at the premises as at the date of the application and at the time of Due Diligence)

Assessment criteria

Applicants should take note of the page limits for each section. Assessors will ignore any text which exceeds the page limit for each section.

Applicants should note that different sections may be evaluated by different assessors.

Section A: Technical and deliverability assessment

Applicants must provide documentation for each of the following sections:

Project summary – No more than 2 pages

Applicants must provide a summary of their proposal which includes the overall approach to technology, siting, infrastructure plans, major milestones with costings, and the Applicant’s suitability to deliver the project.

Project Execution Plan – No page limit

Applicants must provide a narrative return detailing the approach to delivery of the proposed project. We would expect the response to include:

1. A credible project plan detailing how the two project objectives will be delivered. This should include a Gantt chart to be provided as a separate Word, PDF, Excel, MS Project or other file, not subject to page limits, with the file name ‘Section X: project plan [Applicant or consortium name]’.
2. A project schedule, with workstreams and high-level milestones clearly identifiable and a more detailed task breakdown, which outlines the resource and costs of these activities. This should distinguish between the metal and oxide components of the project but also highlight interactions and describe where cross-benefits can be obtained between the two. It should also detail how auxiliary requirements such as analytical and storage facilities will be provided, and include all site planning requirements including those specifically relating to a nuclear site licence.

If the application is to deliver the project with other organisations such as a consortium or through subcontracting specific requirements, we expect the response to include a matrix showing named parties, detailing the distribution of responsibilities and deliverables.

We also expect this to include an assessment of the activities the Applicant will undertake to determine if any of the items (including technology) they will use to deliver the proposed work require an export licence, or the permission of another Government, along with details about the items the Applicant thinks might be subject to such requirements and their understanding of the processes required to apply for and secure such licences or permissions.

Technological approach – No more than 3 pages

Applicants must provide a narrative return describing the technological approach proposed for both metal and oxide deconversion. We would expect the response to include:

1. Information regarding the Applicant’s expertise in delivering deconversion using the proposed technology(ies). In particular, this should include any experience you may have in delivering Low Enriched Uranium Plus (LEU+) or HALEU deconversion;
2. Evidence of the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) of the proposed approach(es) to deconversion and all associated processes (including effluent abatement and recycling of material), and the trajectory for those technologies to reach commercial readiness by 2031. Details on the development required for each technology to reach commercial readiness should be provided. Applicants should explain how they would manage any development work and the organisational processes they have in place to manage technical uncertainty and risk. “No development necessary” is not an acceptable answer.
3. Whether the build of the commercial facility is expected to be first-of-a-kind or not. Where multiple facilities are in train, details should be provided on how lessons-learned and best practice will be transferred from other builds to the proposed UK facility.
4. Evidence of the benefits and suitability of the proposed technology, including factors such as product quality, through-put, worker dose, incorporation of new technologies, material and energy use, and minimisation of waste.
5. Detail of how the proposed technology is scalable to match expanding HALEU production as the market develops, and if further development work would be required.

Waste Management and Decommissioning – No more than 2 pages

Applicants must provide a narrative return detailing the plan for managing any radioactive waste, nuclear material and decommissioning that arise because of the proposed project. This should include an assessment of how any of the above would be dealt with if the proposed metal deconversion facility were to be built. We would expect the response to include:

1. A demonstration of the application of Best Available Techniques in accordance with the Waste Hierarchy to minimise the generation of radioactive waste arising from the deconversion process.
2. An understanding of policy and regulatory aspects of radioactive waste management applicable to the deployment of the fuel product/service. A demonstration that the Applicant has a detailed understanding of the UK regulatory regime.
3. A credible plan to manage nuclear materials and radioactive waste streams produced, including the recovery of HALEU from residues, demonstrating alignment to UK policy and key regulatory principles; and
4. A plan to manage any novel waste streams as a result of new processes, if appropriate, to ensure these can be managed within current and planned UK waste management infrastructure.

Site licensing - No more than 2 pages

Applicants must provide evidence of access to a UK site which has a licence that covers the deconversion of HALEU and associated processes or provide a detailed plan for securing a UK site and/or obtaining the relevant planning permissions and site licence, with specific timelines identified for each step.

In either case, this response should also include evidence of understanding and experience of working under UK licensing conditions and regulations, or how you will acquire this experience.

Resourcing plan – No more than 2 pages

Applicants must provide a narrative return detailing the resourcing approach to delivery of the proposed project. The return should distinguish between resource required to deliver the design and build of the oxide facility and that needed to deliver the design of the metal facility. We would expect the response to include:

1. An organisation breakdown structure of the project team, including clear team roles and responsibilities, reporting lines, and relevant qualifications and expertise needed in teams.
2. Resource forecasting for the project, including labour, specialist or technical support, materials, equipment, facilities, admin, subcontractors, etc. for the duration of the project. This will include training and the proportions of resource already sufficiently qualified, against those that will need training. It should also detail the numbers of resource with the required level of security clearance to work on the project.
3. A plan to manage and control resource throughout the project.
4. A plan for addressing skills shortages/gaps in key areas, including but not limited to criticality assessors, other safety case specialists and engineering design capability.
5. Detail on any potential impacts to project resource from delivery of other projects being undertaken by the Applicant organisation.

Procurement plan – No more than 1 page

Applicants must provide a narrative return detailing their procurement plan for the project, including resource and equipment procurement and associated budgets. We would expect the response to include:

1. A plan for the procurement of resource and equipment during the project, including defined procurement needs, contracts, budgets, any relevant procurement policies and procedures.
2. Detail on how you will measure and control contract performance.
3. Detail on procurement plans for equipment with known supply chain challenges or long lead times such as Gloveboxes.

Supporting project documentation – No more than 1 page plus a risk register

Applicants must provide supporting documentation on project risks and governance arrangements. We would expect the response to include:

1. A project risk register, with risk analysis and quantification carried out on the key risks, including mitigations and the planned response. This should also include details of your project assumptions, dependencies and constraints.
2. Details of your risk management process and escalation mechanisms

Section B: Strategic assessment

Commercial viability – No more than 4 pages

Applicants must provide a narrative return describing how the proposed project will lead to the deployment of a commercially viable HALEU deconversion facility. We would expect the response to include:

1. A business plan for the operation of the facility, including the intended business model for offering deconversion services in the UK and target customers with anticipated product volumes and revenue streams, supported by evidence of market demand (both in the UK and internationally) for deconversion. This should show how the deconversion facility will be commercially viable beyond the period of government grant funding.
2. This plan should include evidence of how the government’s investment into a metal deconversion facility detailed design will be successfully developed and commercialised.
3. Detail on how the project will integrate with the front-end fuel cycle capability used in the UK, including how it will support the supply chain to supply new fuel products/services, protect critical skills and help to create lasting employment opportunities in the nuclear fuel sector.
4. Detail of your approach to stakeholder management, including government, the regulators and the rest of the HALEU fuel supply chain, to achieve these outcomes.

For clarity, for this project the government will not be offering any offtake agreements.

Section C: Economic assessment

Applicants must complete the economic assessment spreadsheet in full. Guidance on how to complete the template is included in the Excel file (Annex C). Applicants must use the template to provide economic information on:

• summary of work packages
• annual profile of expenditure
• itemised list of expenditure
• jobs
• wider benefits
• innovation and markets
• co-investment
• deliverability

Applicants must provide evidence to support any numbers provided and the underpinning assumptions made. Applicants must therefore provide detailed estimates, evidence and a narrative to justify each cost and benefit. Evidence can be provided as a separate Word, PDF, Excel, MS Project or other files, not subject to page limits. It should be clearly named.

All costs, whether in respect of the project or any counterfactual, should indicate any risk factors applied and assumptions made, and should relate to the information supplied to the ultimate decision maker and the parent/group policies relating to how investment decisions are made by the organisation(s) undertaking the project.

All cost and price estimates presented in the template should be in GBP and in current 2024 prices. If converting values from another currency, Applicants must provide evidence of the price/cost estimate in the original currency and supply the exchange rate used to convert the values to GBP.

Applicants should also specifically address how they account for macroeconomic uncertainty, especially the potential impact of inflation on the project in the ‘Itemised list of expenditure’ worksheet. Inflation will likely also impact benefit estimates, and this should be reflected in the other worksheets.

Applicants must include evidence to support cost and benefit estimates provided for the economic assessment. This could include but not be limited to details of the investment criteria that senior decision makers/executives will apply when making the investment decision concerning the project. Other acceptable forms of evidence could include, but are not restricted to:

1. who the ultimate decision-makers are regarding the proposal’s work programme;
2. what information is presented to relevant decision-makers, and how a decision will be reached;
3. the metrics that the final decision-makers will use to compare any proposed options
4. parent/group policy or guidance documents relating to how investment decisions are made;
5. any existing parent/group investment appraisal documents;
6. extracts from Board papers/minutes where the different location options have been discussed (if this is relevant to the counterfactual);
7. feasibility studies on the different options (internal or external) to the extent relevant to the project or the counterfactual;
8. communications from Senior Executives to the extent relevant to the project or the counterfactual;
9. precedents set previously with similar type/scale investment decisions; and
10. evidence that ultimate decision makers are giving serious consideration to other options (including the option to not undertake the work).

The viability of alternative counterfactuals can be demonstrated by the following evidence:

1. certified minutes from board-level meetings that discuss the alternative location;
2. feasibility studies carried out by the counterfactual (or a third party);
3. evidence of similar projects;
4. communications from the decision-maker requesting cost reductions or directly addressing the capability of the counterfactual option; and
5. location studies and relevant analysis feeding into board papers, etc.

Historic evidence that the metrics used for the decision-making process have been used previously by the Applicant and are in line with wider company policy can help provide weight to any counterfactual and cost-gap calculation. This can come in the form of extracts from company policy or previous decisions that demonstrate the metrics and calculations reflect the Applicant’s standard practice.

Section D: Social value assessment

Applicants must provide the information set out below to support The Department in having due regard to its duty to adhere to the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-value-act-information-and-resources/social-value-act-information-and-resources.

Using a maximum of two pages, Applicants should describe how they will ensure opportunities under the contract deliver the following ‘Policy Outcome’:  Create new businesses, new jobs and new skills:

• Create employment and training opportunities particularly for those who face barriers to employment and/or who are located in deprived areas, and for people in industries with known skills shortages or in high growth sectors.

The response should include:

• a ‘Method Statement’, stating how your commitment will contribute to the objective
• a timed project plan and process, including how you will implement your commitment and by when. Also, how you will monitor, measure and report on your commitments/the impact of your proposals. You should include but not be limited to:
  • use of metrics
  • timed action plan
  • tools/processes used to gather data
  • reporting
  • feedback and improvement
  • transparency
• How you will influence supply chains, staff, customers and communities, including any targets, during delivery of the project to support the objective, e.g. through engagement, co-design/creation, training and education, commercial frameworks, partnering/collaborating, volunteering. This should also include your plan to measure the impact of your actions on the supply chain.

Terms and conditions

Standard terms and conditions

The terms and conditions for awards from the HALEU Deconversion Competition have been drafted in line with the standard departmental terms and conditions, modelled on the Cabinet Office’s ‘Guidance for General Grants’. The standard terms and conditions are non-negotiable. The Department reserves the right to adapt the terms and conditions in respect of the relevant project.

Where an Applicant does not agree to the draft Grant Funding Agreement or does not do so within the time required by The Department, may reject that Applicant (meaning that the Application will be rejected from the process and will not be eligible to receive a Grant Funding Agreement).

The example standard terms and conditions for an award are set out in Annex A.

Intellectual property rights

The proposed arrangement for intellectual property rights is set out in Annex A in the example grant Terms and Conditions. 

Costs associated with securing intellectual property arising from, or associated with the project, will not be eligible for reimbursement.

Privacy notice

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s privacy notice can be found in Annex B. Applicants should confirm in their application that they agree to the attached privacy notice.

Information disclosure

All information provided as part of an application, including personal information, may be disclosed in accordance with any applicable law (including the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004), by order of a court or as required by any body or inquiry which has the power to compel disclosure.

The Department will process personal data in accordance with all applicable data protection laws. If Applicants want the information provided as part of their applications to be treated as confidential, they should inform officials, but they should be aware that The Department cannot guarantee confidentiality in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by an Applicant’s IT system will not be regarded by The Department as a confidentiality request.

Where any request is made to The Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the release of information relating to any Applicant or application, which would otherwise be reasonably regarded as confidential information, The Department will notify Applicants of the request as soon as reasonably able to. Applicants must acknowledge that The Department may be obliged to disclose information or data that the Applicant deems confidential or commercially sensitive.

Applications will be assessed by government officials or by contracted delivery partners. All assessors will adhere to confidentiality requirements and must declare any potential conflicts of interest. They will treat applications in the strictest of confidence and adhere to relevant data protection rules. The Department will not disclose the names of assessors to applicants.

Grant Funding Agreement and Subsidy Control

A successful Applicant will be issued with a Final Grant Offer Letter alongside the terms and conditions of the award. The terms of the grant offer letter are not negotiable. The Department reserves the right to adapt the terms of the offer letter and agreement in respect of the relevant project.

Applicants should review the standard terms and conditions published alongside this Guidance prior to submitting their application.

Where an Applicant does not agree to the draft Grant Funding Agreement required by The Department or does not do so within the time required by The Department, The Department may reject that Applicant (meaning that the application will be rejected from the process and will not be eligible to receive a Grant Funding Agreement).

An offer of grant funding ahead of issuing the Final Grant Offer Letter will not guarantee the award of any funding. Applicants should not incur spend in reliance on The Department support at this stage and if they elect to do so, they do so at their own risk.

Subsidy Control Assessment – SAU Review

Grants issued under the HALEU Deconversion Competition are subsidies. The UK’s domestic subsidy control regime is primarily set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (SCA) but other regimes including EU State aid rules and the UK’s wider international obligations can impose additional requirements under certain circumstances.

Where The Department considers that it is required, it will refer the proposal to issue a grant for review to the Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) for review in line with the requirements of the SCA.

The SAU is part of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Applicants should note that the SAU process takes approximately 8 weeks.

Applicants may be required to produce information to assist The Department with the Subsidy Control Assessment and any referral process. Where an Applicant does not provide information requested or does not do so within the time required The Department may reject that Applicant (meaning that the application will be rejected from the process and will not be eligible to receive a Grant Funding Agreement).

Applicants should note that the outcomes of reports by the SAU are made public. Please note that by submitting an application, Applicants are consenting to The Department making information available to the SAU and subsequent publication of such information by the CMA (and to the extent required to comply with the requirements of the SCA).

Where the SAU has accepted a referral request, it will publish an independent advisory report regarding the assessment of the proposed subsidy on gov.uk.

The Department will consider the advice in any report issued by the SAU. Such advice may result in The Department proposing changes to the grant amount of the draft Grant Funding Agreement. Where this is the case, The Department will discuss such changes with the Applicant. Where such changes cannot be agreed, then The Department may reject an application. The Department will not issue any grant funding in contravention of the SCA.

Reserved rights

Withdrawal or amendment of HALEU deconversion competition

The Department reserves the right to withdraw or amend the scope of the HALEU deconversion competition without notice at any time and will not be liable for any costs incurred by Applicants during any stage of the process.

National security

The Department reserves the right to disqualify any bid for a project that would in any way present a security concern to the United Kingdom.

Post-award monitoring

Monitoring and evaluation activities of the project receiving funding will be undertaken during the agreed funding period. The project will have a monitoring officer allocated and be required to undertake regular, at least monthly, project reporting, to which officials will have access.

The Department will monitor delivery of the project to ensure compliance with the grant agreement and progress against the output indicators throughout the monitoring period. This will include funding claims, reviewing evidence of defrayed expenditure and ensuring compliance with subsidy control requirements. Monitoring could also include visits and monitoring information (including data on expenditure, progress with innovations, supply chain engagement, co-investment achieved) will be recorded on a centralised, web-based Management Information System.

The Department will agree core compliance indicators with the successful Applicant.

Applications in scope of the Windsor Framework

Applicants will be subject to Article 10 of the Windsor Framework (WF) if they are conducting activities that affect trade in goods or electricity between Northern Ireland and the European Union as envisaged by Article 10. This is most likely to apply to Applicants and partner organisations based in Northern Ireland, but in limited circumstances may also affect those in England, Scotland, Wales and those based internationally.

Applicants must answer some questions as part of their application that will help The Department determine whether they are likely to be subject to Article 10 of the WF. The questionnaire has a yes / no format, and Applicants should consider the activities of their business in its entirety and project partners when answering. If an Applicant’s response to the questionnaire indicates that they are in scope of the WF, The Department will ask further questions. These additional questions will differ according to the location of businesses.

If an application is successful and The Department determines that this application engages Article 10 of the WF, it will engage with the Applicant prior to issuing a grant offer letter to ensure that any grant offered is compliant with State aid obligations under Article 10. Mitigations to an application falling within scope of the WF could include the application of the General Block Exemption Regulation, exploring opportunities to eliminate cross-subsidies to Northern Ireland by requiring Applicants to ringfence subsidised activities as a condition of the grant award, or making a formal State aid notification to the European Commission.

Glossary

Term	Definition
Additional Protocol (AP)	For information please see: https://www.iaea.org/topics/additional-protocol
Best Available Techniques	The available techniques which are the best for preventing or minimising emissions and impacts on the environment.
Clarification Question	A question which may be asked following the publication of Guidance to clarify a specific point.
Coated Particle Fuel (CPF)	Coated Particle Fuels (also known as TRISO fuels) are a specific type of fuel used in High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs). They consist of a uranium fuel kernel, coated with several outer layers.
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)	The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is an independent non-ministerial department, which helps people, businesses and the UK economy by promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/competition-and-markets-authority/about
Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA)	For information please see: https://www.iaea.org/topics/safeguards-agreements
Final Grant Offer Letter	The letter the Secretary of State issued to the successful Applicant detailing the nature of the Grant award.
Financial Year (FY)	From 1 April to 31 March the following year.
Full Time Equivalent (FTE)	An FTE job is one of 30 or more hours per week. If the role requires any additional hours this still only counts as 1 FTE. Two part time jobs of 15 hours or more count as equivalent to one full time job. Any part time jobs of 15 hours up to 30 hours should be stated as 0.5 of an FTE.
Foreign Exchange (FX) rates	The price of the domestic currency with respect to another currency.
Gantt chart	A chart showing, in horizontal lines, activity planned to take place during specified periods, which are indicated in vertical bands.
Grant Funding Agreement	The documents that govern the grant arrangements, including (without limitation) the final grant offer letter and the grant terms and conditions.
Guidance	Refers to this guidance document.
Cabinet Office Guidance for General Grants	For information please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/grants-standards/guidance-for-general-grants-html
Hazard and Operability Analysis (HAZOP)	A technique for the identification and analysis of hazards and operational concerns of a system.
High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU)	Uranium enriched to greater than 5% and less than 20% of the U-235 isotope.
Intellectual Property Rights or IPRs	Copyright, rights related to or affording protection similar to copyright, rights in databases, patents and rights in inventions semi-conductor topography rights, trade marks, rights in internet domain names and website addresses and other rights in trade names, designs, know-how, trade secrets and any modifications, amendments, updates and new releases of the same and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection which subsist or will subsist now or in the future in any part of the world.
Internal Rate of Return (IRR)	A method of calculating an investment’s rate of return.
Low Enriched Uranium Plus (LEU+)	Uranium enriched to greater than 5% and less than 10% of the U-235 isotope.
Method Statement	A description, in a logical sequence, of exactly how a job is to be carried out in a way that secures health and safety and includes all the control measures.
NACE	The Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community.
Net Zero	When the total greenhouse gas emissions are equal to the emissions removed from the atmosphere.
Net Present Value (NPV)	The present value of an investment’s future net cash flow (= difference between the money coming in and going out) after the cost of the original investment has been subtracted.
Occasions of Tax Non-Compliance	Any official action taken by HMRC against individuals or companies with regards tax avoidance, evasion and other forms of non-compliance.
Public Sector Equality Duties (PSED)	The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED, or “the duty”), which applies in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), requires public authorities to have due regard to certain equality considerations when exercising their functions, like making decisions. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-sector-equality-duty-guidance-for-public-authorities/public-sector-equality-duty-guidance-for-public-authorities#introduction
Secretary of State	Refers to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Small Quantities Protocol (mSQP)	For information please see: https://www.iaea.org/topics/safeguards-legal-framework/more-on-safeguards-agreements
Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU)	The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) is part of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The SAU has 2 main functions: providing non-binding advice to public authorities monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness of the subsidy control regime For further information, please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/subsidy-advice-unit/about
Subsidy Control Act (SCA)	Subsidy Control Act 2022 which implements a domestic subsidy control regime in the United Kingdom.
Technology Readiness Levels (TRL)	A type of measurement system used to assess the maturity level of a particular technology.
The Applicant	Either a single organisation or the lead Applicant of a consortium.
The Department	Refers to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT)	The NPT is an international treaty which aims to: prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy pursue negotiations in good faith on disarmament measures
Voluntary Offer Agreement (VOA)	For information please see: https://www.iaea.org/topics/safeguards-agreements
Waste Hierarchy	The waste hierarchy sets out the priority order for managing waste materials based on their environmental impacts.