'Major moment' as Sizewell C agrees fuel contracts

Sizewell C has chosen which companies will provide the power plant with nuclear fuel

The team behind a new nuclear power plant has signed two low carbon fuel contracts which project bosses have described as "a major moment" for the country's energy security.

Sizewell C, which will be built near Leiston in Suffolk, has agreed a six-year supply contract with Urenco - and a long-term fuel fabrication contract with Framatome.

The former will make natural uranium suitable for use at the power plant, before the latter turns it into pellets, which then form fuel assemblies for use inside its reactors.

Those behind the deal predict it will support and create thousands of jobs within the industry and minimise the plant's reliance on fuel imports.

Urenco will enrich natural uranium at its site in Chester

Julia Pyke and Nigel Cann, joint managing directors of Sizewell C, said: "These two contracts represent a major moment for Sizewell C and for energy security in the UK.

"The fuel that will go in our reactors will be low carbon and predominantly sourced from the UK, produced by skilled British workers.

"This is what we mean by doing infrastructure differently – and it puts the UK's energy security and our nuclear supply chain in a much stronger place."

Julia Pyke said the deal marked a "major moment" for the UK's energy industry

Sizewell C, which will cost £38bn to build, will supply electricity to the equivalent of six million homes for at least 60 years once it is operational, predicted to be in the 2030s.

Those behind the development say the project will directly support 10,000 jobs and thousands more in the supply chain, and create 1,500 apprenticeships.

Some of those include around 1,000 existing jobs at Urenco's enrichment site at Capenhurst, near Chester.

Sizewell's deal with Framatome, meanwhile, will initially see the fuel fabricated at its factory in Romans, France, until its new UK facility is built, creating yet more jobs.

The new contract also means that 90% of the project's construction value will be delivered to UK businesses, according to Sizewell bosses.

Lord Patrick Vallance said the deal would reduce the country's reliance on imported fuel

Lord Patrick Vallace, minister for science, innovation, research and nuclear, said the government was supporting a "new golden age of nuclear" by "backing Sizewell C".

"These contracts will reduce our reliance on fuel imports, while supporting 1,000 highly skilled jobs and channelling investment into Cheshire," he said.

"Our clean energy superpower mission is not only about strengthening our energy security, but also building resilient, homegrown British supply chains to boost jobs and growth."