Nuclear energy’s role in delivering Levelling-Up

The Queen has marked the start of a new parliamentary session at Westminster with a speech that set out the Government’s planned legislative agenda for the forthcoming session. A key pillar of this is the delivery of ‘Levelling-Up’. The Government will publish a White Paper which would outline the new policy needed to deliver on the Levelling-Up agenda, and how this would be linked to the recovery from COVID-19. Levelling-Up is clearly going to be a key pillar of the Government’s plans, as demonstrated with the recent appointment of Neil O’Brien MP as the Prime Minister’s adviser on Levelling-Up.

It is very positive to see the Government’s commitment to delivering on this important policy area, to improve opportunities and boost livelihoods across the country.

At Urenco, we believe that nuclear power is well placed to drive the recovery from COVID-19, as part of a Green Revolution to achieve net-zero by 2050, and it is a natural fit with the Government’s Levelling-Up ambitions.

The UK is a historic nuclear leader and given the existing capabilities, much of which are based in the North West, nuclear could drive the Levelling Up of the region.

For example, through Urenco, the UK has domestic capabilities to provide enrichment services and fuel cycle products for the nuclear industry from our site in Capenhurst, Cheshire. We generate significant revenues in the UK, much of which come via exports of nuclear fuel. We are also supporting the development of new and advanced nuclear, which can provide a source of low carbon power and heat and therefore a solution for the decarbonisation heavy industry.  This can be one of the models for Levelling-Up, by Government supporting exports and net-Zero strategies, which can help to create value throughout the value chain. 95 per cent of our supply chain spend is in the UK (most of which is focused on the north-west region).

We look forward to seeing how the Levelling-Up White Paper will look to create opportunities and believe that support for nuclear can be one of the building blocks of creating real and meaningful change.

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