‘Small is beautiful’ for nuclear, CEO tells conference

A potential tripling of nuclear capacity by 2050 can only happen with the deployment of smaller, innovative reactors alongside their largescale cousins, Urenco’s CEO told a major industry conference. 

Boris Schucht told the World Nuclear Symposium in London that “small was beautiful” and both small modular and advanced modular reactors (SMRs, AMRs) offered better predictability and shorter construction times, amongst other benefits.  

They had to be included in a mixture of nuclear new-builds, including largescale reactors, to get us closer to tripling capacity by 2050. 

Around 25 governments signed the tripling nuclear energy declaration at COP28 last year, recognising that the low-carbon solution was key to achieving net zero as part of a wider energy mix. 

However, Boris said SMRs and AMRs were still not “at the starting blocks of the race” and the industry had to come together to accelerate projects and make them a reality. 

Boris also called on next-generation reactor developers to support the new HALEU fuel facility being built at Urenco’s Capenhurst site in Cheshire, UK. This was announced in May, 2024, and Boris said contracts had yet to be signed with customers despite the “chicken and egg” problem of the nascent market being solved through such a project.

Urenco is joint-funding the facility alongside the UK Government. 

Boris was speaking on the panel “Fuelling ambition – the nuclear fuel cycle and expanding to meet demand” on September 5. 

For a tripling of capacity, he also called on political ambitions to be translated more into political actions to provide long-term political certainty, as well as support the industry in areas like skills and regulation. 

As a rule of thumb, Boris emphasised that investment in the nuclear fuel cycle should be based on market signals, rather than ongoing government subsidies which can confuse the market.  

Urenco was also the Platinum sponsor at the Symposium’s Gala Dinner event at The Dorchester hotel, where around 600 delegates gathered for food and an evening of entertainment.  

There, Boris highlighted the importance of medical isotopes for cancer treatments and diagnostics, saying the nuclear industry was both “helping to save the world from extreme climate change, and saving people’s lives”. 

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