Committing to achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050, the UK is setting an ambitious target. Especially when the Committee on Climate Change estimates that electricity demand is likely to double by the middle of the century.

Clearly, to achieve this, all aspects of people’s lives will be affected. This will affect the way we travel, how we heat our homes, where we go on vacation, even the food we put on our plates.

This prompted the UK government to review how the increase in electricity consumption would be met. This can be done through three major energy sources: renewable energy, natural gas (using carbon capture and storage technology) and nuclear energy.

The nuclear sector is currently contributing just under half of the clean electricity production in the UK, but the sector needs investment – 14 of the country’s 15 reactors are expected to be decommissioned by 2030. At the same time, authorities are preparing to launch three other plants – Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C, and Bradwell B.

In recognition of the important role that nuclear energy will play in the future, the government has initiated the largest investment in nuclear R&D in years. The Nuclear Innovation Program (NIP) helps to explore the development of leading-edge manufacturing technologies, advanced modular reactors and advanced fuels. And this investment is already yielding results.

Earlier this year, the UK-SMR consortium announced plans to put into operation the first small modular reactor (SMR) by 2029. This second wave of new nuclear construction, in addition to major construction projects, is welcome news as promises to reduce the total cost of achieving zero emissions.

The modular nature of SMR means that much of the construction process will take place in factories. The opportunity to reduce the amount of civil engineering involved and reduce the associated uncertainty must also drastically reduce costs. This will potentially make future nuclear prices competitive with alternatives such as renewable energy (RES).

These modular reactors can act as a clean energy catalyst for the United Kingdom. Based on an analysis of data obtained from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the British National Grid and the International Energy Agency (IEA), the potential international market value for this advanced nuclear technology is estimated at 3 trillion GBP.

Research conducted on advanced nuclear technologies and advanced nuclear fuels, such as high-temperature gas-cooled reactors using TRISO fuel, can also help the nuclear sector to target the third wave of reactor-generated power other than electricity and/or heat and/or hydrogen.

These “fourth generation” reactors will harness the best of nuclear technology and help the UK achieve carbon offsets and eliminate them from the national energy mix more quickly and independently.