Small Modular Reactors

The UK, once a world leader in commercial nuclear power, now generates only 14 % of its electricity from nuclear and aims for 25 % by 2050. To revive the sector, policymakers pursue both gigawatt‑scale plants (e.g., Sizewell C, costing ~£38 bn) and small modular reactors, with Rolls‑Royce as the domestic SMR partner and the first UK SMR slated for Wales. New financing models—Contracts‑for‑Differences and Regulated Asset Base—de‑risk revenue but not construction overruns. Talent gaps, fragmented regulation, and a narrow uranium supply chain, especially reliance on Russia, remain major hurdles.