Nuclear Fuel Fund (closed to applications)
The Nuclear Fuel Fund aims to support the UK’s nuclear fuel supply chain to develop the capabilities needed to meet current and future fuel demand in the UK and globally.
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Update: 18 July 2023
We have published the list of projects that have been awarded funding under the Nuclear Fuel Fund.
The Nuclear Fuel Fund (NFF) aims to support the UK’s nuclear fuel supply chain to develop the capabilities needed to meet current and future fuel demand in the UK and globally. This is in recognition of the value of maintaining a strong domestic fuel supply chain to support our ambition to increase civil nuclear deployment to up to 24GW by 2050 and protect our energy security.
The NFF will help overcome barriers to investment in the UK’s front-end fuel cycle supply chain by offering match funding to promising projects which support the establishment of new capabilities to produce or handle uranium and associated fuel products.
The Request For Information (RFI) process identified specific categories of fuel capabilities which were of particular priority for the NFF to support. These capabilities are considered to be the most strategically important to the UK’s future nuclear deployment ambitions, and where funding will be most impactful to remove market barriers.
The categories are:
- Light Water Reactor (LWR) Fuel Supply
- High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) Supply Chain
- Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) Fuel Fabrication Capabilities
- Enabling UK Fuel Production Capabilities
Further guidance on the scope of each of these categories is contained in the application guidance. All grant funding for NFF projects must be transferred to the grant recipient and spent by 31 March 2025.
Applying to the Nuclear Fuel Fund
The fund is now closed to applications.
Contact us
If you have any enquiries about the NFF email: nuclearfuelfund@energysecurity.gov.uk.
Background
We ran the Request for Information (RFI) in July 2022, asking for:
- views on the challenges facing the sector and the barriers to investment
- feedback on the proposed fund design
- information regarding the potential projects that could be put forward for funding
The response to the RFI, and market analysis, informed the NFF design. As part of the Nuclear Fuel Fund, a direct award was made to Westinghouse UK to support existing UK fuel capability at their Springfields site in Lancashire. The remainder of the fund will be allocated to proposals which cover a range of fuel products and services. The full range of eligible proposals is covered in the application guidance.
Updates to this page
Last updated 18 July 2023 + show all updates
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We have published the successful projects for this fund.
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Added clarification questions with responses.
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Register to apply for the fund by midday 27 January 2023. Late registrations will not be accepted.
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First published.