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Energy firm newcleo will suspend its programme to develop lead-cooled fast reactors (LFR) in Britain. 

 Energy firm newcleo said on Wednesday it would suspend its programme to
develop lead-cooled fast reactors (LFR) in Britain and substantially wind
down its UK activities due to the lack of support and funding from the
government.

LFRs are a type of advanced nuclear reactor technology which
are smaller and more efficient than conventional nuclear reactors and can
be built in factories and assembled on site to provide heat for industrial
processes and hydrogen production.

The firm, established in 2021 and
headquartered in Britain, said it had planned to develop up to four such
reactors in the UK, producing a total of 800 megawatts, enough to power
around 1.6 million homes, and representing around 4 billion pounds ($5
billion) of investment.

The company said it had engaged with successive UK
governments on access to the country’s stock of stored plutonium which it
had planned to recycle for use in the reactors. “Sadly, despite many
attempts to engage with political stakeholders, the UK government has
decided to not make its plutonium available for the foreseeable future and
to lend its political support and considerable funding to other
technologies,” Stefano Buono, founder and CEO of newcleo, said in a
statement.

In addition, support and funding have been made available to
other small modular reactor technologies but they have not been forthcoming
for LFR developers such as newcleo in Britain, the firm said. Instead, it
will focus on other important markets. In Slovakia, newcleo said it had
created a joint venture with state-owned nuclear company JAVYS to build up
to four LFRs powered by the country’s spent nuclear fuel stocks, which
has received endorsement from government officials. In June, an agreement
with the Lithuanian government was signed based on a similar strategy.

 Reuters 30th July 2025, https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/energy-firm-newcleo-says-it-will-suspend-uk-lead-cooled-fast-reactor-development-2025-07-30/

August 3, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | technology, UK