The Cross-Party Group on Energy Costs took place at the House of Commons and discussed "Britain's Nuclear Industry Supply Chain: Opportunities and Challenges". The event was chaired by Luke Taylor MP and the line up of speakers had been brought together by Master Ashutosh Shastri.
Fuellers Dr Luc Bardin, Board Director UK Industrial Fusion Solutions, Nick Mansell, CEO, Intermarine UK and Dr Stephen Larkin, CEO of Africa New Energies all discussed the complexities of delivering across multiple nuclear technology pathways, the importance of supply-chain development and the role of coordinated industrial strategy in supporting large-scale infrastructure delivery
Summary of Presentations
All forms of nuclear power, large-scale plants, small modular reactors (SMRs) and, in time, fusion, have a vital role to play in delivering the UK’s Clean Power Plan. Together they provide firm, low-carbon electricity that complements renewables, underpins energy security and supports a resilient net-zero system.
While large plants offer proven baseload at scale, SMRs bring flexibility and the potential for faster deployment across regions, and fusion represents a strategic long-term opportunity for clean, virtually limitless energy. Treating these technologies as a coherent portfolio, rather than competing options, is essential to meeting the UK’s decarbonisation and reliability goals.
Equally critical is an industrial strategy that makes new nuclear cost-effective and investable. While design replicability, developing domestic supply-chains can help drive down costs, boost productivity, and anchor high-value jobs in the UK, the challenges lie in implementation- this is likely to get complicated when dealing with multiple technology vectors like large reactor systems, SMRs and creating the enabling platform for fusion energy systems.
Speakers
. Our speaker line up for this meeting were:
- Dr Luc Bardin, Board Director, UK Industrial Fusion Solutions who will provide an overview of the industrial strategy underpinning the UK nuclear power strategy
- Nick Mansell, CEO, Intermarine UK who will share his experience in developing industrial engineering solutions and its applications for the UK new nuclear build programme
- Dr Stephen Larkin, CEO of Africa New Energies who will provide his perspectives on future new entry costs for UK nuclear capacities.