Britain to invest 300 million pounds in next-generation nuclear fuel programme

Britain said it plans to spend 300 million pounds ($380 million) on a new programme to produce advanced nuclear fuel suitable for the next generation of power-generating reactors.The first production plant is scheduled to be operational by the early 2030s in the North West of England, said the energy security department in a statement.Britain sees a central role for a nuclear power revival in its long-term energy strategy, launching a competition last year to develop small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).Such reactors are intended to be easier and cheaper to produce, avoiding the high costs and construction delays that have led to a decades-long stagnation in the expansion of global nuclear power capacity.Britain was one of over 20 countries - including the United States, France, and South Korea - that recently signed a pledge to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 as part of international efforts to cut climate-damaging carbon emissions.Like other European nations, Britain has sought to cut its energy reliance on Russia since the start of the Ukrainian-Russian war. (QNA)