Nuclear Sector Development and Investment Conference

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy – Declan Burke, Director of Nuclear Projects and Development

Declan is a Director in BEIS and leads the Nuclear Projects and Development team. Previously he worked in a range of roles across clean energy including renewables, Carbon Capture Storage policy and the recently published Energy White Paper. He has also worked in UK Government Investments – the Government team responsible for managing HMG’s interest in publicly owned companies and the Mergers and Acquisition team at Deutsche Bank. Declan also has an MEng in Avionic Systems Engineering from the University of Bristol.

National Nuclear Laboratory – Dr Fiona Rayment, Chief Science & Technology Officer

The National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) play a key role in the UK and abroad by reducing the cost of clean-up and decommissioning, maintaining critical skills and attracting new talent to the industry. Fiona joins us to share insight into the future of the nuclear sector as well has improving utilisation and the integration of nuclear power into our energy systems. We will also hear the NNL’s thoughts on the importance of plant development like Sizewell C and Hinckley C, as well as the potential of small modular reactor technology.

Rolls Royce SMR – Alastair Evans, Director of Corporate & Government Affairs

Rolls Royce SMR was established to deliver clean, affordable and reliable energy for all. Their Small Modular Reactor is factory built, repeatable and can be delivered on a much shorter time frame than traditional nuclear power plants. When fully operational the Rolls-Royce SMR programme will create 40,000 regional UK jobs by 2050 and generate £52bn in economic benefit, with a forecast to target £250bn in global exports for the UK.

EDF Sizewell C – Xanthe Kueppers, Head of Investor Relations

The £20bn Suffolk-based power plant has just received planning permission from the Government and is expected to be commenced before 2024, with construction predicted to take between nine and twelve years to complete. Sizewell C is projected to meet nearly 7% of the UK’s power demands when complete, enough to power approximately six million homes. Xanthe joins us to update on the progress of the development and to discuss nuclear energy’s role in creating tomorrow’s net zero Britain.

UKRI – Richard Deakin, Director, Low Cost Nuclear Energy

Back in 2020, as a part of the Prime Minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, the UK Government announced it would invest £215m into small modular reactors from 2021 onwards via the Low Cost Nuclear (LCN) programme. The LCN programme aims to position the UK as a global leader in the provision of nuclear co-generation technology and services by bridging the existing technology gaps to facilitate energy-intensive industries to effectively use small nuclear outputs. This will allow the UK to deploy SMR and advanced modular reactors (AMR) quickly and efficiently in the future, enabling their wider application to society.

Sizewell C – Shekhar Sumit, Program Manager (Financing and Economic Regulation Team)

Shekhar Sumit is a Programme Manager in the Financing and Economic Regulation Team at Sizewell C, the company developing the proposed nuclear project at Suffolk, UK. At Sizewell C, Shekhar leads on its energy hub workstream, covering topics such as cogeneration potential for nuclear and technology opportunities such as hydrogen and direct air capture.

Penultimate Power – Candida Whitmill, Managing Director

Candida Whitmill is Managing Director of Penultimate Power UK Limited, leading a joint venture with Japan to commercialise High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors in the UK. This innovative, ultra-safe technology is the first worldwide to produce carbon-free heat up to 950C. It offers a commercially viable alternative to fossil fuels for industrial heat and green hydrogen production as well as affordable power. It is an accelerated, de-risked option that capitalises on the UK supply chain and nuclear expertise that resides in the UK’s nuclear institutions and universities.

Candida is an energy professional with an entrepreneurial business background. She has been an energy advisor to three Secretaries of State for energy and has had many papers and articles published on various energy sectors including gas, renewables and nuclear. Candida has lectured on energy at universities across the UK and in Europe and has media experience on both radio and TV. She has been working on SMRs and AMRs since 2011.

Nuclear Industry Association – Dr Tim Stone, Chair

The Nuclear Industry Association is the trade association for the civil nuclear industry in the UK that represents more than 250 companies across the UK’s nuclear supply chain. As chair, Tim is well placed to discuss why nuclear energy is essential to meeting the UK’s future energy needs and how it will be essential in helping us reach Tomorrow’s Net Zero.

Jacobs – Dawn James, Vice President – Nuclear Power

Dawn is the VP for Nuclear Power business at Jacobs, with responsibility for around 800 engineers, scientist, consultants, safety case specialists and project managers supporting the civil nuclear sector and new nuclear developers and investors in UK, France, Poland and South Africa’s civil nuclear power and defence industries.

Holtec Britain – Gareth Thomas, Senior Programme Manager

Holtec International is a turnkey supplier to the nuclear and power generation industry. Holtec’s core sectors include nuclear fuel and nuclear waste management (including supply of storage and transport containers/flasks), nuclear power station decommissioning and the SMR development – focused on the design and construction of Holtec’s SMR-160 reactor. SMR-160 is a simple, passive and advanced power station.  Holtec has completed the preliminary design and is now performing detailed design and physical verification and validation testing aided by a $116 Million grant from the Department of Energy ARDP programme. Holtec is licensing the SMR-160 in the US via the 10 CFR Part 50 2-Part application process . In the UK, Holtec is evaluating the GDA process, siting and operational aspects to inform a decision regarding UK development.

Heart of the South West LEP – Corinne Matthews, Sector Lead – Nuclear and Aerospace

Currently the home to the world-leading £20bn Hinckley Point C project, Corrine is currently working to ensure that the project leaves a lasting sustainable economic legacy for the region. Working in partnership with industry, academia, skills, business support and other public sector stakeholders, HotSW LEP’s Nuclear South West scheme has the potential to deliver £50bn of nuclear opportunities across 15 projects over the next 20 years in new build, decommissioning, and defence.