The UK Treasury said yesterday it is important to consider large-scale nuclear projects in addition to Hinkley Point C if the country is to meet its net-zero by 2050 target. This assessment rejects the advice of the National Infrastructure Commission two years ago that the government should not agree support for more than one nuclear power station beyond HPC, before 2025.

EDF has published an Expression of Interest document for a direct air capture demonstrator project at Sizewell C, the nuclear power plant it plans to build in Suffolk, England. The work will support NNB GenCo in: the supply and development of DAC technology, the design, engineering and construction of a DAC unit; the development of opportunities for scalability and cost reductions; and project management services.

The UK's Nuclear Industry Association has welcomed the government's confirmation yesterday that nuclear power will play a role in achieving the country's net zero by 2050 target, but says clarity is still needed on large-scale projects. In its Ten Point Plan, the government refers to such support as being "subject to value-for-money".

The International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that Iran is feeding uranium hexafluoride into a recently installed cascade of 174 IR-2M centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant in Natanz. France, Germany and the UK - the E3 - warned yesterday that Iran's further violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action were "hollowing out" core non-proliferation benefits of the 2015 nuclear deal.

EDF announced today its "proactive decision" to move the Hinkley Point B nuclear power plant into the defuelling phase, no later than 15 July 2022. The plant, which is in Somerset, England has been in operation for 45 years.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled a 10-point plan that he says can be "a global template" for delivering net-zero emissions. Point 3 of the plan is the government's commitment to develop new nuclear power, from large-scale to small and advanced modular reactors. This includes investment of GBP525 million (USD696 million) for "the next generation of small and advanced reactors".

Rolls-Royce and US utility Exelon Generation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pursue the potential for Exelon to operate small modular reactors both in the UK and internationally. The announcement came as the British engineering company also signed an MoU with Czech utility ČEZ to explore the potential for SMRs in the Czech Republic. The consortium comprises Assystem, Atkins, BAM Nuttall, Jacobs, Laing O'Rourke, National Nuclear Laboratory, Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Rolls-Royce and TWI.

A US consortium of Bechtel, Southern Company and Westinghouse is in talks with the British government about reviving the Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant project in north Wales by building AP1000 reactors at the site on Anglesey. Citing an unnamed source, the Financial Times said today that discussions about Wylfa began after the US consortium contacted the British government in September, expressing its wish to take over the project.

British engineering company Rolls-Royce and Czech utility ČEZ have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the potential for small modular reactors in the Czech Republic. Rolls-Royce is leading the UK SMR Consortium, which also includes Assystem, Atkins, BAM Nuttall, Jacobs, Laing O’Rourke, National Nuclear Laboratory, Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and TWI. ČEZ has already entered into similar agreements with NuScale and GE Hitachi.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority's fusion energy experiment - the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade tokamak at Culham Science Centre - has achieved first plasma for the first time. MAST Upgrade will be the forerunner of the UK's prototype fusion power plant - Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) - due for completion by 2040. It will also aid preparations for Iter - the world's largest science megaproject, under construction in the South of France, which intends to demonstrate fusion power on an industrial scale.

Nuclear - including advanced and small modular reactors - can play a positive role in helping to rebuild the post-COVID economy while also helping combat climate change, Urenco and U-Battery Ltd have said in a submission to the UK Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee inquiry on post-pandemic economic growth.

Nuclear energy could help the UK achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, not only through the generation of low-carbon electricity but also by fully utilising the generated heat, according to a policy briefing published yesterday by the Royal Society. This heat could be used to heat homes, produce hydrogen and decarbonise industry, it says.