Midlands nuclear energy potential to be explored through study

Midlands Net Zero Hub has appointed Cogent Skills and Equilibrion to undertake studies into the skills and siting opportunities required to develop nuclear projects in the Midlands.

The Hub-funded siting and skills studies will support Midlands Nuclear’s ambition to review the potential opportunities in relation to siting of nuclear generation and understanding the current skills in addition to future needs in the Midlands region.

The skills study will include a needs and gap analysis review to identify the skills base already in the Midlands, those required in the future, and any potential shortfall which need to be addressed. The skills report will aid local educational establishments with their current and future curriculum development and support nuclear businesses to understand where further financial contributions may be required to ensure the skills are available.

The siting report will be used as an ‘investment brochure’ for attracting Nuclear development into the Midlands. It will provide a detailed breakdown of potential sites for development, engagement with the local community of those sites, supply chain development in the associated locations, and further information about implementation and whole life of the project.

In the UK, nuclear electricity accounted for approximately 14% of energy generation in 2023. However, the Government has an ambition to deliver up to 24GW of nuclear power capacity by 2050, up from around 6GW today. The Civil Nuclear: Roadmap to 2050 sets out the aim to secure investment decisions to deliver 3-7GW every five years from 2030 to 2044.

To accelerate the development of nuclear projects, Great British Nuclear was launched in Spring 2023 and will focus on facilitating the roll out of small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors alongside GW-scale projects. Through the Midlands siting and skills study, both Midlands Net Zero Hub and Midlands Nuclear will support this national ambition.

The Midlands is not a region that is traditionally associated with nuclear energy generation, but the studies aims to discover opportunities to develop nuclear capacity. There are potential industrial sites in the region which could be repurposed for nuclear and leading companies in the sector with the capability to support these projects, alongside the government’s STEP Fusion site located at West Burton.

Jack Hayhoe, Head of Net Zero Programmes at Midlands Net Zero Hub, said:

“We are delighted to support Midlands Nuclear with the skills and siting studies. Understanding the landscape is vital to make meaningful and strategic progress projects in the Midlands. There is a huge potential in nuclear energy generation in the Midlands and a large appetite from local specialist companies. With long development times for projects, we need to get started on these projects now to meet the Government’s ambition to quadruple nuclear delivery by 2050. We will be using the findings from the study to inform the approach to nuclear projects in the Midlands, as well as demonstrating the regional need to our funders at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.”

Professor Martin Freer, Co-Director of Midlands Nuclear said

“The two studies will form vital components of shaping a deeper understanding of the role nuclear can play in the region and the opportunities for retaining and skills development. The Midlands has some of the key activities for next generation nuclear energy from small modular reactors to fusion energy, and Midlands Nuclear aims to draw together academia, industry with local government to ensure the sector is successful and maximises the potential of the regions manufacturing base.”

To keep up to date with the Midlands Nuclear skills and siting study, follow Midlands Net Zero Hub on LinkedIn.

The Midlands Net Zero Hub is funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and accountable to Nottingham City Council. For more information, please visit here.