Westinghouse AP300 small modular reactors (SMRs) has been selected by Community Nuclear Power (CNP) to develop Britain’s first private nuclear power station, the UK’s only independent small modular reactor (SMR) development company, the SMRs are to be built in North Teesside, Northeast England, anticipating commercial operation by the early 2030s.
Nuclear technology powerhouse Westinghouse announced on February 8 that it and CNP had inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop the 1.5 GW nuclear project. Additionally, CNP claimed to have “secured an agreement” for the site in a LinkedIn post on Thursday. The business stated, “This means the necessary agreements and component parts—land, capability, technology, private capital funding, and community demand—are in place to make this ground-breaking proposition happen.”
CNP now expects to work with strategic partners, including engineering firm Jacobs and Interpath Advisory, to develop the “fully licensed site” for the project” by 2027, it said.
A Good Future for Westinghouse’s Recently Released AP300
Should the project be finished, it might be the first SMR implementation in the UK. Additionally, it might be the first time Westinghouse uses the AP300, an SMR type that the company introduced in May 2023. Furthermore, according to CNP, this is “the first privately funded project deploying SMRs anywhere in Europe.” “We also want to be producing clean energy in ten years.”
According to CNP, the company’s assurance in starting the project stems from “identifying like-minded businesses and communities with whom we can collaborate.” Paul Foster, CEO of CNP, proposed on Thursday that the AP300 be selected by the firm because of Westinghouse’s “proven technology and mature supply chain.” These qualities fit in well with CNP’s “breadth of experience in delivering nuclear programs in an area that is changing its industrial landscape,” he stated.
The 300-MWe/900-MWth AP300 is a “downsized” version of the company’s flagship AP1000 Generation III+ pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology, as POWER has explained in detail. It will take advantage of the knowledge gained from AP1000 reactors that are now in operation or under development. On Thursday, Westinghouse announced that additional clients in North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom are also considering the AP300 SMR. To investigate AP300 implementation, Westinghouse has already signed Memorandums of Understanding with Energoatom in Ukraine, JAVYS in Slovakia, and Fortum in Finland and Sweden.
North Teeside was chosen by CNP for a strategic reason as well. A portion of the broader Teeside region, which is renowned for its rich industrial history, is comprised of North Teeside. The Teeside Cluster, which consists of over 60 industrial sites with services and infrastructure to serve the area’s former steelworks and current chemical industries, is one of the region’s most notable features. Teeside, which includes five power projects and other carbon capture and hydrogen projects, is quickly becoming a net-zero industrial hotspot. The East Coast Cluster was established in 2021 by the Teeside hub in collaboration with a nearby industrial cluster located in Humber.
The 540 acres of industrial land on the North Tees that CNP is proposing to build on are part of the North Tees Group Estate. As stated by CNP, “There is a program to build a specialized site that provides green sustainable power for the region. This program is in response to the mature market-led demand for clean, reliable energy in Teesside.” With the goal of generating power to liquids (e-fuels and e-chemicals) through an offtake ecosystem on the north bank of the River Tees, close to Stockton-on-Tees, the project will also assist “the development of a Green Energy and Chemical Hub on the North Tees Group Estate,” according to its statement.
A Smart Choice for Nuclear Innovation
Given the reactor’s intended adaptability, David Durham, president of Energy Systems at Westinghouse, said the AP300 SMR was appropriate for these applications. In addition to supporting grid generation, he stated that “our AP300 SMR is ideally suited for industrial sites to generate clean and secure energy as well as the ability to produce hydrogen, e-fuels, desalination, and district heating.”
In order to maximize the potential opportunities on and surrounding the site, CNP has stated that it “will work in partnership with local business and the regional authorities.” The statement continues, “Securing local agreements to use this heat and power will protect private off-take customers from fluctuations in the energy markets and create a baseload supply to drive future investment, materially enhancing the project’s long-term prospects.”
