The nuclear renaissance is not just taking place in the United States; it is a global movement. The U.K. is in the middle of constructing the multi-gigawatt Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant with a second massive project, Sizewell C, in active planning. Expanding beyond traditional large reactors, the U.K. has published the Advanced Nuclear Framework in an effort to speed up nuclear development from the nuclear fuel, equipment supply, and reactor construction industries.
The U.K.’s Advanced Nuclear Framework
The U.K. has published a new nuclear regulatory pathway for enabling the rapid deployment of advanced reactor technology in the country. The new framework draws on lessons learned from the construction of the traditional large reactors built at Hinkly Point C. They are also following up on the reactor developer competition coordinated by Great British Nuclear. The competition was to determine which company would be the first to construct a small modular reactor in the U.K. The domestic industrial juggernaut Rolls-Royce (RR.LN) won the event.
Recognizing that the current regulatory requirements did not support efficient permitting of advanced reactors, the government has overhauled its regulator to dramatically improve the process. The new program will directly benefit U.K. reactor developers, including Rolls-Royce and U.K. nuclear construction companies like Jacobs Solutions (J) and Amentum (AMTM).
Statement on Civil Nuclear Fuel Use
Hand in hand with the publishing of the Advanced Nuclear Framework, the U.K. also issued a Statement on civil nuclear fuel use. The government clarified the expectations of their future nuclear fleet and outlined some of their intentions for how they will support expansion of the domestic nuclear fuel and supply chain.
The statement highlighted the £300 million investment made to establish a U.K. High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) supply chain. While traditional reactors have mainly run on fuel enriched to about 5% of usable nuclear fission material (referred to as LEU, or Low Enriched Uranium), some advanced reactors in development today require fuel enriched to as high as 20% (referred to as HALEU).
In order to meet the increased demand for new nuclear fuel, the other stages of the fuel chain will also have to expand capacity. There is an ongoing effort by Westinghouse, owned by Cameco (CCJ), to reopen the Springfields conversion facility in the U.K. This would expand capacity for the fuel chain stages immediately prior to and after enrichment.
RR.LN, J, AMTM, and CCJ are constituents of the VettaFi Nuclear Renaissance Index (NUKZX). NUKZX is the underlying index for the Range Nuclear Renaissance Index ETF (NUKZ).
For investors interested in the global growth opportunity for nuclear power, NUKZX includes a diversified group of companies across the nuclear value chain. Constituents include reactor developers like RR.LN, as well as companies focused on fuel, construction and services, and utilities (read more).
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