EDF’s new UK plants should be negotiated as one, French energy minister says.
EDF’s two UK nuclear construction projects at Hinkley Point and Sizewell
should be negotiated as a single financial venture, France’s energy
minister has urged, to prevent the French energy giant shouldering
significant cost overruns.
Marc Ferracci said he had held discussions on
the projects with Britain’s energy minister Ed Miliband on Thursday, on
the sidelines of an energy security summit in London. “France and EDF are
very committed to deliver the projects but we have to find a way to
accelerate them and we have to find a way to consolidate the financial
schemes of both projects,” Ferracci told the FT.
France has been lobbying
the UK government to help EDF with the finances of Hinkley Point C in
Somerset for more than a year. It argues that the French state-owned
electricity operator should not be left on the hook for cost overruns that
have taken the total bill to as high as £46bn. EDF — which has also
experienced long delays on other projects using the same reactor technology
in Finland and France — has warned that the first of two reactors at
Hinkley Point C could be delayed to as late as 2031, which would be six
years later than its original target.
The French company has a smaller
equity stake in the Sizewell C project in Suffolk, which it is also
developing. Ferracci denied that the French government was seeking to use
Sizewell as “leverage” to help bail it out of financial difficulties at
Hinkley.
FT 25th April 2025,
https://www.ft.com/content/0c50a553-3376-42d8-8ac5-c8aa84d2e78d
Nuclear Free Local Authorities sign letter asking leading banks to back our planet not the bomb!
The UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities have endorsed an Open Letter
calling on five major banks to divest from nuclear weapons. The letter was
drafted by activists at Medact as the next action in their Don’t Bank on
the Bomb UK campaign. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest and Standard
Chartered have provided $30.5 billion to the nuclear weapons industry. For
the survival of humanity and the planet, the elimination of nuclear weapons
and prevention of their use is an urgent priority. This letter calls on the
five banks to stop choosing profit over people and end financing nuclear
weapons.
NFLA 22nd April 2025, https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/nflas-sign-letter-asking-leading-banks-to-back-our-planet-not-the-bomb/
Framatome awarded backup power and remote sensing Sizewell C contract
Framatome has been awarded a contract to provide conventional field
instrumentation (CFI) and emergency backup power generation capacity to
Sizewell C. The company is 80.5% owned by EDF – a French state-owned
company, which is the minority owner of Sizewell C. The remaining 19.5% of
Framatome is owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The UK Government is
currently the majority owner of Sizewell C, which has sunk £6.4bn of
taxpayer cash into the project. Sizewell C has not yet achieved a final
investment decision (FID), which is a requirement before main construction
can take place. Framatome will be supplying “ultimate diesel
generators” which will be “controlled by Framatome’s digital control
systems”, according to a statement from the company. Ultimate diesel
generators provide emergency backup power capacity to nuclear power
stations in the event that grid power becomes unavailable.
New Civil Engineer 22nd April 2025
https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/framatome-awarded-backup-power-and-remote-sensing-sizewell-c-contract-22-04-2025/
DOE Releases More Funding to Reopen Palisades Nuclear Plant
Energy Secretary Chris Wright on April 22 announced the release of a third
loan disbursement to Holtec for the reopening of the Palisades Nuclear
Plant in southwest Michigan. Today’s action releases $46,709,358 of the
up to $1.52-billion loan guarantee to Holtec for the Palisades project.
The 800-MW Palisades plant, located in Covert Township, was closed in 2022.
Holtec bought the power station from Entergy that year, with intent to
decommission the facility, before deciding instead to restart the plant.
Palisades at present would be the first U.S. nuclear power plant to restart
after being closed.
The plant still needs licensing approvals from the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Opponents of restarting the nuclear power plant have said they will appeal a recent decision by a three-judge panel of the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, which refused to grant a hearing on the merits for seven safety-related contentions brought by a coalition that includes Beyond Nuclear, a nonprofit group. Beyond Nuclear and other groups have argued the plant should not be restarted.
Powermag 22nd April 2025,
https://www.powermag.com/doe-releases-more-funding-to-reopen-palisades-nuclear-plant/
Sam Altman steps down as chair of nuclear power supplier Oklo to avoid conflict of interest.
The modular reactor company he funded and led is in
talks to deliver energy to OpenAI. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman is
stepping down as chair of Oklo to avoid a conflict of interest ahead of
talks between his company and the nuclear start-up on an energy supply
agreement, as the race to power artificial intelligence intensifies.
Altman, who was an early-stage investor in Oklo, will step down immediately
and be replaced by Jacob DeWitte, the group’s CEO and co-founder. The
move comes as the AI industry strives to procure high-wattage, low-carbon
energy supplies. Although it may be years before tech companies can benefit
from nuclear power, the launch of DeepSeek, the less energy-intensive
Chinese large language model competitor, has underscored the urgency for
western companies such as OpenAI to compete.
Oklo has yet to enter into any firm partnerships or receive approval for any of its designs from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the US.
FT 22nd April 2025,
https://www.ft.com/content/a511bae0-d19f-4ebd-9520-69d3f89d8556
Navy’s nuclear submarine hiring crisis as sailors forced to spend record 204 days underwater
By MARY O’CONNOR, 20 April 2025
Naval experts have sounded the alarm over a recruitment crisis plaguing
Britain’s submarine fleet. The Royal Navy is struggling to hire and hold on
to sailors manning the Trident nuclear deterrent, resulting in shortages of
engineers and other critical roles. Sailors are quitting amid a raft of
challenges, including maintaining ageing boats. There are increasingly long
patrols underwater, with sailors cut off from contact with loved ones for
months.
Daily Mail 19th April 2025,
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14628517/sailors-forced-spend-record-days-underwater.html
Framatome and Sizewell C sign contract for EPR reactor instrumentation.
Framatome and Sizewell C have signed a contract for the supply,
qualification, and pre-assembly of conventional instrumentation for the EPR
reactors under construction at Sizewell, strengthening their collaboration
on this large-scale project.
Energy News 18th April 2025,
https://energynews.pro/en/framatome-and-sizewell-c-sign-contract-for-epr-reactor-instrumentation/
India Aims to Lure Foreign Nuclear Power Providers With Eased Liability Laws
Oil Price, By Tsvetana Paraskova – Apr 18, 2025,
India plans to remove an unlimited liability clause in its nuclear energy laws in a bid to attract foreign firms, especially U.S. companies, to its nuclear energy sector.
The Indian Department of Atomic Energy has prepared a bill that would remove a clause in the Civil Nuclear Liability Damage Act of 2010 that exposes suppliers to unlimited liability if accidents occur, government sources told Reuters.
India plans a major expansion to its nuclear energy capacity in the coming decades as a pillar of reliable zero-carbon electricity to meet surging power demand.
By capping the liability for suppliers of nuclear reactors, India seeks to attract foreign companies to an industry expected to become key to the country’s energy transition……………………………………..
ndia’s largest power utility, NTPC, plans to invest over the next two decades $62 billion in building 30 GW of nuclear generation capacity, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters earlier this year.
NTPC is also reportedly looking to hire consultants for feasibility studies for small modular reactors that could potentially replace some of the utility’s old coal-fired power plants…………….. https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/India-Aims-to-Lure-Foreign-Nuclear-Power-Providers-With-Eased-Liability-Laws.html
Third tender submitted in UK SMR selection process
Holtec has announced that it has submitted its final tender response to
Great British Nuclear as part of the UK’s ongoing small modular reactor
technology selection competition.
GE Hitachi and Rolls-Royce SMR earlier
confirmed they had submitted final tenders. There were initially six
companies shortlisted by Great British Nuclear (GBN), the arms-length body
set up to oversee the UK’s plans for new nuclear, with the four shortlisted
companies – Westinghouse being the other – entering negotiations last
September.
In February, the four SMR vendors were issued with an Invitation
to Submit Final Tenders. The aim is for GBN to select up to three of the
technologies, with the intention of supporting the deployment of multiple
units of a company’s SMRs at a site. GBN currently owns land for potential
new nuclear at Wylfa in Anglesey in North Wales, and at Oldbury in
Gloucestershire in southwest England, but other sites could also be chosen.
In an interview early last year for the World Nuclear News podcast, GBN
Chairman Simon Bowen said the intention was to place contracts with one,
two or three technology providers – this would be for co-funding the
technology all the way through to completion of the design, regulatory,
environmental and site-specific permissions process, and the potential to
place a contract for the supply of equipment. Each selected technology
would have an allocated site with the potential to host multiple SMRs.
World Nuclear News 16th April 2025
https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/third-tender-submitted-in-uk-smr-selection-process
‘Risk of insolvency’ at parent company of N.B. nuclear developer
Moltex Canada CEO says money problems in U.K. ‘slowed us down’ on small modular reactor development
Jacques Poitras · CBC News ·Apr 17, 2025
Saint John-based Moltex Energy Canada Inc. is hoping potential new owners for its overseas parent company will breathe new life into its development of small modular nuclear reactor technology in the province.
But the company acknowledges that cash flow problems at its U.K.-based parent company have slowed down those efforts.
There is “a risk of insolvency” at the parent company, Moltex Canada CEO Rory O’Sullivan acknowledged in an interview.
An administrator is now looking for buyers for the U.K. company’s assets, which include Moltex Energy Canada.
“As a technology development company we need to almost continuously be fundraising to keep progressing technical milestones,” O’Sullivan told CBC News. “And, because we need parent company authorization to raise new capital, we have not got that authorization.
“That has slowed us down. And so that’s why we’re looking forward to new owners as soon as possible.”
The U.K. administrator overseeing the sale, Azets Holdings Ltd., said in a statement that the holding company had been unable to get majority shareholder consent for new investments or a sale of assets.
That led directors to decide on March 17 to put the company under Azets administration…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“They are looking for investors now. … We also have to have a Plan B in the event ARC isn’t ready.”
That could include buying small reactors from companies not operating in New Brunswick.
Ontario Power Generation was recently granted a licence by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to build its first SMR, a competing model by GE-Hitachi, at its Darlington power station.
ARC spokesperson Sandra Donnelly said in a statement Wednesday that the company aims to complete design work by 2027 so it can apply to the commission for a licence to build its first reactor. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/moltex-canada-parent-potential-sale-1.7512014
CND Cymru has highlighted the continued lack of investment in communities and people, while billions is to be spent subsidising the nuclear industry.
Following reports that the Westminster government is doubling down on
Nuclear Power, including a potential further investment in Sizewell C and a
raft of new Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), CND Cymru has highlighted the
continued lack of investment in communities and people, while billions is
to be spent subsidising the nuclear industry.
Keir Starmer seems poised to announce renewed public subsidy in Hinkley Point C, not set to open till 2031, and support for a further reactor at Sizewell C, costing billions in
taxpayer money. Coupled with a renewed focus on pushing through SMR
proposals, also likely subsidised by the taxpayer, Starmer may be set to
hand over £10 billion to the nuclear industry at a time when austerity is
looming over everyone.
Citing the potential for growth, Starmer is banking
on moderate gains by corporations in order to save a stagnating economy
that would benefit more from investment in community and green projects.
A CND Cymru spokesperson said “The willingness of the government to fund
the nuclear industry to the tune of billions while preaching austerity to
everyone else is absolutely farcical. We have seen the winter fuel payment
means tested, an attack on disability and other welfare systems, and a
refocus away from people towards profit. This government is functionally
taking money from the pockets of working class people and handing it to
corporations in the nuclear and warfare industry in order to chase a
mythical idea of growth – all while suppressing the true wealth creators in
this country.
A different, greener, fairer, future is possible which
doesn’t leave future generations with nuclear waste – and the government
has time to refocus and adjust their plans in order to build that future.
We must not accept the subsidy of the nuclear industry – all meant to prop
up a failing industry in order to preserve our nuclear attack capabilities
– while working people are facing impossible choices or sometimes not even
having the luxury of choice – starving and freezing – while the CEOs and
shareholders rake in the cash. Something has to change – and it is in the
government’s power to change it if they wish; because austerity, the death
of thousands, and the attack on millions, is a political choice, not
economic necessity.”
CND Cymru 14th April 2025
CND Cymru condemns billions for nuclear industry
Morning Star 15th April 2025
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/cnd-cymru-condemns-billions-nuclear-industry
CAMPAIGNERS have condemned the billions being poured into nuclear energy while the Westminster government “preaches austerity” for everybody else.
CND Cymru attacked Sir Keir Starmer today, claiming he was poised to announce more public subsidy for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset, not due to open until 2031.
A CND Cymru spokesperson said: “The willingness of the government to fund the nuclear industry to the tune of billions while preaching austerity to everyone else is absolutely farcical.
The anti-nuclear campaigners said Hinkley Point is likely to cost over £40 billion, £14bn over the initial estimate, with CND pointing out the project was managed by French company EDF.
“We must not accept the subsidy of a failing industry in order to preserve our nuclear attack capabilities while working people are facing impossible choices,” the CND spokesperson said.
“A different, greener, fairer, future is possible which doesn’t leave future generations with nuclear waste.”
A nuclear play in New Brunswick is facing a fragile outlook.
14 Apr 25
- What’s happening: The British owner of New Brunswick’s small modular reactor startup has entered insolvency, throwing its assets on the auction block.
- Why it matters now: The Canadian subsidiary says it’s forging ahead, but with delays, money troubles and fading momentum, Ottawa’s nuclear play is wobbling.
- The broader view: It’s a gut check for Canada’s SMR strategy – and a reminder of how fragile government-backed innovation can be when the scaffolding cracks.
Moltex Canada pushes on with nuclear project as U.K. parent struggles
Matthew McClearn, Globe and Mail, Toronto, 14 Apr 25
The British owner of New Brunswick small modular nuclear reactor developer Moltex Energy Canada Inc. is up for sale as part of a U.K. insolvency proceeding.
Moltex Energy Ltd., a private company based in Stratford-upon-Avon, announced last month the appointment of two insolvency practitioners from accounting firm Azets Holdings Ltd. to manageitsaffairs. Azets hired appraisers Hilco Valuation Services to solicit offers for its assets, which are due May 7.
It’s the latest complication fortaxpayer-sponsored efforts to construct small modular reactors, or SMRs, in New Brunswick.
Moltex’s wholly owned Canadian subsidiary is one of two vendors partnered with New Brunswick Power to build reactors at Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station. Moltex Canada’s is known as the Stable Salt Reactor-Wasteburner (SSR-W), and it’s also developing a plant to reprocess spent nuclear fuel. The second company, ARC Clean Technology, is working on another reactor called the ARC-100.
Both were originally promised by 2030. But developing a novel nuclear reactor is a painstaking, resource-intensive process that can require hundreds of employees, billions of dollars and decades of effort. New Brunswick and the federal government backed startups with only one or two dozen employees, and they’ve struggled to raise funds privately.
Moltex’s British holding company was founded in 2014 by Ian Scott, who previously worked in the biological-sciences field including as a senior scientist at Unilever PLC. (A co-founder, John Durham, stepped down as a director in October.) According to its latest financial report, published in January, it employed two people during the year ended March 31, 2024, and lost £630,000 (about $1.1-million). For several years its reports raised uncertainty about its ability to continue as a going concern.
Britain’s administration process is similar to proceedings under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act; according to the British government, it’s intended to provide “breathing space” while a rescue package or sale of assets is executed.
According to Moltex Energy Ltd.’s financial statements, its shareholders had provided its equity throughout its history; it carried no long-term debt. The company reported in 2023 that its future depended on raising external capital; it had enough cash flow to survive through December, 2025, albeit “there would need to be cuts.”
Rory O’Sullivan, chief executive officer of Moltex Energy Canada, was also a director of the parent company for much of the past several years. He said the British company’s shareholders would not approve the Canadian subsidiary’s fundraising efforts, effectively stalling them.
“The key here is we needed to get someone else in control of Moltex Energy Ltd. so that we could have a competitive sale process,” Mr. O’Sullivan said…………………………..
New Brunswick’s government attracted Moltex and ARC to establish offices in the province in 2018. The two companies have each estimated that it would cost around $500-million to develop their respective technologies…………………………
As for ARC, its CEO and other employees suddenly departed last summer; ARC has published no announcements on its website since then. The ARC-100 is undergoing a prelicensing review by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Spokesperson Sandra Donnelly said the company will complete its design by 2027 to support an application for a construction licence.
NB Power’s CEO, Lori Clark, presented SMRs as playing a crucial role in her utility’s plans to achieve “net zero” emissions. More recently, however, she acknowledged that neither project is likely to follow its original schedule, and the utility is now considering other reactors for construction at Point Lepreau.
Spokesperson Dominique Couture wrote in a statement that NB Power has been working on an environmental impact assessment for the ARC-100 during the past year. And it assisted Moltex’s development efforts for reprocessing spent fuel.
All this is far less than what the federal government envisioned in the SMR Roadmap, a 2018 document developed with extensive input from the nuclear industry. It promised demonstration projects across the country; successive federal budgets allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to support them.
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories was to have an SMR called the Micro Modular Reactor up and running at its Chalk River facility by 2026. But its partner in that project, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp., initiated a court-supervised sale process under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in October. Another partner, Ontario Power Generation, pulled out last year.
Of the demonstration projects contemplated in the SMR Roadmap, only one appears to be on track: OPG’s proposal to build a “grid-scale” SMR at its Darlington Station. This month it received a construction licence from the CNSC to build its first reactor, a BWRX-300 designed by U.S. vendor GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy. If completed on schedule by 2028, it would be the first SMR in any G7 country. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-moltex-canada-pushes-on-with-nuclear-project-as-uk-parent-struggles/#comments
Up to date costs of Sizewell C nuclear are over £40 billion, not the £20 billion quoted.
Letter: Dr Sarah Darby, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford.
Nuclear power’s bill: You cite the estimated cost of Sizewell C
nuclear power station as £20 billion (“Starmer powers ahead with plan
for new nuclear plant”, news, Apr 10). But this was the original estimate
and is a long way from the more recent figure of £40 billion, which itself
is well below any final sum once the costs of capital, decommissioning and
disposal are factored in.
The prime minister and the power company EDF
appear determined to see nimbyism as the main obstacle to nuclear power.
Yet the laws of physics and the experience of engineers tell us that
nuclear plants remain a complex, risky, time-consuming and expensive method
of producing steam to run turbines. It is not too late to steer the funding
in more productive directions. As industrialists and policymakers
increasingly recognise, renewables, efficiency and storage offer attractive
options for meeting our energy needs.
Times 12th April 2025 https://www.thetimes.com/comment/letters-to-editor/article/times-letters-tariffs-backdown-america-donald-trump-lrmsg87k6
1 This Month
18 March Webinar @ 1 PM EST: An Assessment of SMR Projects: The Case of Canada
register for the zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_o8BIIOUvQ2ONJR1nta65DQ#/registration
of the week – STOP SMALL MODULAR REACTORS IN CANADA
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