TNNS 2025

Supercharging New Nuclear with a Digital-First Vision

Jacob Higley opened The New Nuclear Summit 2025 with a powerful message on the urgent need to converge nuclear power, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital innovation. Reflecting on the UK’s historic role in scientific advancement—from Alan Turing’s computing legacy to the Calder Hall nuclear reactor—he framed the summit as a platform to lead the next chapter of innovation.

Higley emphasised that energy abundance, not scarcity, is critical to unlocking the full economic and technological benefits of AI. He argued that Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) offer a scalable, clean, and reliable solution to meet this demand—especially when integrated into AI-driven, interoperable platforms and smart microgrids combining nuclear and renewable sources.

His “Digital-First” vision includes cloud-connected SMRs managed by real-time AI to optimize grid stability, reduce waste, and empower communities. He challenged the audience to move beyond the “art of the possible” and begin building the infrastructure needed to support an AI-powered future—stating clearly:

“Energy is, in essence, the currency of AI. Innovation lies in abundance.”

Higley’s call to action was clear: it’s time to unify across industries—nuclear, AI, and finance—and deliver a bold, clean, and resilient energy future for the UK.

Government Address on Nuclear and AI Leadership

Ensuring energy security, driving Net Zero goals, boosting investment, and positioning the UK as a nuclear and AI leader.

In his keynote, Lord Hunt delivered a wide-ranging and forward-looking address that positioned nuclear energy as essential to the UK’s economic, environmental, and digital future. He began by affirming the government's unwavering commitment to nuclear energy as part of achieving Net Zero, economic growth, and energy security.

He emphasized the climate imperative, citing alarming evidence of rising temperatures and stressing the economic risks of inaction. Net Zero, Lord Hunt argued, is not just an environmental necessity but an economic opportunity—capable of driving innovation, investment, and job creation across the country.

Major Project Commitments:

• Reaffirmed government support for Hinkley Point C and the forthcoming Sizewell C (with £2.7 billion allocated).

• Accelerated focus on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs), with Great British Nuclear soon to announce competition results.

Digital Infrastructure & AI Synergy:

• Recognised the critical role of SMRs and AMRs in powering AI data centres.

• Referenced the AI Energy Council and AI Growth Zones as key initiatives to align clean energy with the UK’s digital future.

• Backed the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan to fuel technological growth while reinforcing energy resilience.

Reforms & Regulation:

• Unveiled plans to streamline planning and grid connection for nuclear and energy infrastructure.

• Introduced a Nuclear Regulatory Reform Task Force to ensure high safety while accelerating delivery and enhancing international collaboration.

Skills & Supply Chain:

• Called for 40,000 new professionals in nuclear by 2030, as part of the National Nuclear Skills Strategy.

• Emphasised the importance of domestic fuel production, with £300 million committed to developing the HALEU (high-assay low-enriched uranium) supply chain.

Investor Confidence:

• Stressed that long-term policy stability and transparent ambitions would create the confidence needed to attract private sector investment and grow the UK’s nuclear ecosystem.

Conclusion:

Lord Hunt closed with a message of optimism and urgency, echoing Jacob Higley’s opening remarks. He described this moment as a “pivotal opportunity” to place the UK at the forefront of global nuclear innovation—empowering both the clean energy transition and the digital economy.

Re-imagining the Energy Future

Exploring the convergence of AI, hyperscalers, and nuclear energy to reshape energy, society, and economic growth, Dr. Simon Harrison delivered an ambitious and far-reaching vision for the UK's clean energy future, centered around the transformative partnership between hyperscalers and the nuclear industry. Drawing from his extensive experience in strategy and engineering, Harrison outlined a new framework for growth, decarbonisation, and social regeneration.

The “Unlikely Marriage” Analogy:

Harrison compared the union of hyperscalers and nuclear developers to an unusual but potentially powerful partnership—one marked by cultural contrasts but capable of immense collaborative impact. Hyperscalers bring scale, speed, and ambition; nuclear delivers long-term stability, safety, and reliability.

Energy Context and AI Demand:

He contextualised the UK’s current decarbonisation goals—aiming for a fully decarbonised electricity grid by 2030—and stressed the urgency of expanding energy generation to meet skyrocketing demand, especially from AI and data centres. Estimates suggest 15–25 GW or more of new energy capacity may be needed to support hyperscaler growth.

The Nuclear Catalyst Opportunity:

Harrison proposed a bold model: build co-located nuclear power stations and data centres, turning waste heat into usable district heating for communities. This would not only support compute but drive urban regeneration, economic development, and decarbonised heating, particularly in left-behind regions of the UK.

Social and Environmental Gains:

A gigawatt-scale data centre with nuclear backing could generate 2–2.5 GW of waste heat—enough to heat ~300,000 homes. Hyperscalers contributing to heat networks could drastically lower energy costs in disadvantaged communities, contributing directly to societal cohesion and opportunity.

Infrastructure, Skills, and Complexity:

Harrison stressed the need for massive expansion in local electricity distribution, workforce development, and planning reform. He also highlighted potential risks from culture clashes, regulatory lag, and long program lead times—but maintained that early action by hyperscalers could accelerate SMR/AMR maturity and reduce risk across the board.

Vision Summary:

Dr. Harrison’s call to action framed hyperscalers as not just energy users but catalysts for clean power innovation, societal renewal, and technological leadership. By seizing this opportunity, the UK could redefine the relationship between digital infrastructure and sustainable energy.

A New Nuclear Age

How data centre proliferation and AI energy demand are redefining global energy systems and driving nuclear innovation, Tone Langengen delivered a compelling narrative on the evolving role of nuclear power in an AI-driven world, urging the audience to recognise and seize the opportunity to align energy strategy with the emerging demands of digital infrastructure.

Historical Reflections on Nuclear’s Rise and Fall:

Langengen recounted the early excitement surrounding nuclear power’s promise of energy abundance, and the setbacks that followed—from the Three Mile Island incident to Chernobyl and Fukushima. She highlighted how this history dampened progress and left the world over-reliant on fossil fuels, missing a crucial opportunity to decarbonise sooner.

AI’s Role in the New Nuclear Renaissance:

She identified AI’s surging electricity demand as the catalyst for a genuine nuclear revival. Hyperscalers like Microsoft are now driving demand for clean, 24/7 baseload power—making nuclear the only viable technology that meets the trifecta of high capacity, reliability, and Net Zero compatibility.

From Big to Small, Public to Private:

Langengen outlined a paradigm shift underway in the nuclear industry:

• Moving from large reactors to scalable Small and Advanced Modular Reactors (SMRs/AMRs)

• A shift from public-sector dominance to increased private-sector investment

• An expansion from few to many nuclear sites across diverse regions

• A stronger alignment with AI and industrial users, especially for heat and power applications

Geopolitical Implications:

She emphasised the strategic importance of nuclear power in the current geopolitical climate, citing competition from Russia and China, and the UK’s opportunity to reassert leadership through clean energy innovation and exportable SMR technology.

Policy & Financing Priorities:

To unlock this “new nuclear age,” Langengen called for:

1. Planning and regulatory reform – standardization to support cost-efficient deployment

2. Innovative financing models – especially for private sector-led projects and AI-nuclear co-deployments

3. Global collaboration – to secure robust, diversified supply chains and fuel production capacity

   
   

Conclusion:

Langengen closed by urging government, industry, and AI leaders to collaborate now and avoid repeating past mistakes. With hyperscaler demand and AI investment accelerating, she framed this moment as a rare, timely convergence—where technology, policy, and capital can finally usher in a bold new era of clean energy innovation.

New Nuclear Global Overview

The intersection of hyperscalers, nuclear power, and energy finance, driven by Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in the new digital age.

Christopher Russo delivered a powerful exploration of the rising role of nuclear energy in the AI era, particularly as hyperscalers demand reliable, clean, and scalable power. As both a scientist and economist, Russo offered a dual-lens perspective—grounded in technological realities and economic imperatives.

Key Takeaways:

A New Economic Reality of Data and AI:

Russo described how the energy demand of data centres—once minimal—is now exponential. AI has introduced a marginal cost to software, as training large models requires massive electricity. This redefines data as a physical commodity with real infrastructure implications.

Load Growth and Infrastructure Strain:

Demand projections in North America (and globally) now show hockey-stick growth curves, with 10–100x increases in energy demand driven by data centres, vehicle electrification, and industrial transitions. This surge is straining the power grid, supply chains, and planning frameworks, creating backlogs in grid connections, turbine orders, and transformers.

Why Nuclear? Why Now?

Nuclear emerges as the only scalable, clean, base-load solution in the current context. SMRs are seen as particularly attractive due to:

• Rapid deployment timelines (reducing interest costs)

• Compatibility with high-capacity, 24/7 data centre loads

• Thermal storage integration for balancing renewables

Russo referred to SMRs as "magic hot rocks" that boil water for power—perfectly suited to the constant output demands of AI compute clusters.

Global Movement and Public-Private Momentum:

He highlighted global traction—from the restart of Three Mile Island in the US to Canada’s leadership in SMR deployment. Activity has dramatically increased, not just from vendors but investors, tech companies, and national governments. Governments, Russo argued, must set the regulatory and financial playing field, as private investment alone cannot shoulder the nuclear scale-up.

Geopolitical and Strategic Value:

Russo emphasized that both nuclear power and computational capacity are now national security assets. Governments increasingly want compute capacity and energy infrastructure within sovereign borders. Nuclear delivers not just energy security, but economic development, local manufacturing, and global competitiveness.

Conclusion:

Russo closed by asserting that we’re witnessing a genuine tipping point. Never before has there been such alignment across governments, private capital, hyperscalers, and vendors. With speed, scale, and strategic clarity, the nuclear-AI partnership could reshape the energy and digital future.

Unleashing Nuclear’s Potential to Power AI & Data Infrastructure

1. How Much Nuclear Is Enough?

Virginia Crosbie opened the session by asking the critical question: Is 24GW of nuclear capacity by 2050 sufficient? Panelists converged on the idea that current ambitions must scale rapidly to meet both decommissioning schedules and exponential AI-driven energy demand.

Dr. Magnus Mori (URENCO):

• URENCO is building a HALEU enrichment facility in Capenhurst—a crucial first-mover investment to enable advanced reactors (SMRs/AMRs).

• Emphasized contract-backed investment: Unlike traditional models, advanced fuels require pre-market commitments.

• Warned that window of opportunity is closing as competing technologies (e.g., CCS) accelerate.

• Urged the industry to move beyond policy into execution and commercial partnerships.

David Hogan (NVIDIA):

• Framed AI compute infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, equating energy sovereignty with AI sovereignty.

• Noted data centre projects are now 500MW–1GW, far exceeding legacy designs.

• Called out the urgent need for clean base-load energy, identifying nuclear as the only viable scalable option.

• Pointed to France as a leader integrating nuclear into AI strategies, urging the UK and Europe to catch up.

Nadab Akhtar (Crowdpoint):

• Stressed the need for "smart energy," not just more energy.

• Argued that current nuclear and grid systems work hard, but not smart, and promoted real-time AI-based grid optimisation.

• Advocated for edge AI for energy dispatch, saying predictive and self-learning systems can dramatically improve efficiency.

• Shared Crowdpoint's work on energy futures markets, modeling electricity as a financial asset with smarter custodianship.

 Lord Iain McNicol (NIA):

• Highlighted the criticality of continuity: without timely approval of Sizewell C, the sector risks losing its skilled Hinckley Point C workforce.

• Celebrated the industry's track record on apprenticeships and skills but stressed a need for a robust pipeline and industrial strategy.

• Raised two main risks: planning system delays and supply chain attrition.

• Called for regulatory streamlining and greater alignment across global regulators (UK, US, Canada).

Notable Takeaways:

AI and Nuclear are converging as strategic pillars of economic and national security policy. The UK risks falling behind unless it accelerates SMR deployment, resolves regulatory bottlenecks, and aligns energy strategy with AI growth zones. Data center load profiles now match nuclear’s base-load generation profile, making nuclear a uniquely suited partner. Skills and supply chain continuity are existential for nuclear’s expansion—gigawatt plants and SMRs both need a skilled, ready workforce. Investors and developers are ready, but delays in final investment decisions (FIDs) and planning could squander momentum.

The Power of Evolution

Risk mitigation through technological evolution and partnership models for SMR deployment.

❝ Technology is not the risk — it’s time to focus on regulatory, financial, and site clarity. ❞

Dr. Baranwal opened with a challenge to investors: What’s holding back nuclear investment? While the audience cited site access, regulation, and finance, she flipped the script—arguing that technology risk is overstated, particularly when it comes to proven evolutionary designs.

Westinghouse’s Position:

• Heritage: Nearly half of the world’s nuclear fleet uses Westinghouse tech.

• Recent Success: The AP1000 reactors in the US and China operate at near 98% capacity factor, proving design reliability and simplicity.

• Next Gen: The AP300 SMR leverages over 30 years of engineering from AP1000, and lessons in:

  • Construction

  • Regulatory navigation

  • Operational best practices

Risk Mitigation Lessons:

1. Design completeness before build

2. Regulator engagement is not a blocker, but requires:

   • Frequent communication

   • Complete submissions

   • Transparent responses

3. Construction and supply chain readiness is a major strength for Westinghouse.

   
   

Deployment Models:

• Highlighted partnerships with DevCos like Community Nuclear Power (CNP) and Filed Coast Energy, exploring revolutionary siting and business models.

• Westinghouse supports both evolutionary design and revolutionary deployment.

Financing Insights (Q&A):

• Private investment is coming, especially from hyperscalers—but they seek certainty, speed, and advocacy, not necessarily government funding.

• Government’s role:

  • Provide regulatory/policy advocacy

  • Offer completion incentives, not just early-stage subsidies

  • Avoid “gumming up” the system—don’t overcomplicate what works

• Buyers want PPAs, not operational responsibility—companies like Microsoft prefer to contract with utilities, not own reactors.

Navigating the Legal Landscape of Modular Reactor Deployment

Aligning law, regulation, and commercial reality to enable private-led SMR projects and AI/data-driven energy models.

❝ We don’t just need an SMR regulatory framework — we need a co-location framework built for the reality of data centres, hydrogen, and modular energy use. ❞

💼 Professional Context:

• Decade of nuclear legal advisory: from the Barakah project (UAE) to the UK, Poland, and Netherlands.

• Now advising both gigawatt-scale projects and modular ventures including AI-aligned SMR deployments.

• Witness to the cultural shift from government-led to private enterprise–driven nuclear.

Legal Landscape Evolution:

Then:

• Gigawatt-scale, government-led, long timelines, judicial reviews, environmental battles.

Now:

• Private enterprise-led, modular, faster builds, co-located with high-demand industries like:

  • AI/data centers

  • Hydrogen production

  • Desalination and agri-tech

Challenges and Opportunities:

Need for a "Co-Location Regulatory Framework"

• SMRs won’t work if regulations don’t support:

  • Powering data centers

  • Captive clean electricity

  • Multi-use industrial zones

• SMRs must be investable — not just safe.

Legal Innovations Needed:

• Modular construction licensing (not just site-based)

• One-stop-shop licensing models

• Updated liability and insurance rules (adapted for scale and context)

• Cross-regulatory harmonization between:

  • ONR (nuclear)

  • EA (environment)

  • Data/AI regulators (cybersecurity, confidentiality, digital integrity)

 Private Capital Is Ready

• Hyperscalers and AI players are actively seeking to buy SMRs — not just power.

• SMRs are now "first-of-a-kind” assets with:

  • Strong off-take demand

  • Alignment with ESG goals (EU taxonomy now tags nuclear as “clean”)

  • A global export potential if the UK gets the model right

From Energy to Ecosystem

The delivery bottleneck is no longer the tech or the money — it's the enabling framework:

• Planning reform  (EN-7)

• Government advocacy

• Cross-sector policy & regulation harmonisation (still needed)

• Modular licensing & export protocols (critical gap)

The Private Sector DevCos – Forging the Future Pathways for Energy Generation

Chris Sheryn – Community Nuclear Power (CNP) Steve Wood – CEO, Fylde Coast Energy (FCE) Rob Proctor – Technology Director, Chiltern Vital Berkeley (CVB)

What is a DevCo?

“It’s more than owning a pony — it’s about the stables, vet bills, and knowing how to ride.” – Chris Sheryn

A DevCo (Development Company) bridges the gap between SMR technology providers (OEMs) and end users (industry, data centers), by:

• Acquiring land and licensing

• Structuring finance

• Engaging with communities

• Integrating off-takers (industry or data)

• Aligning with policy & regulatory frameworks

DevCo Approaches:

1. Community Nuclear Power (CNP):

• Model: Private SMR (Westinghouse AP300 x4) + 400-acre industrial decarbonisation cluster (Teesside)

• Use Case: Power-to-liquids (SAF), microgrid electricity + heat for local industry

• Investors: Family offices, hyperscalers, US philanthropic funds

• Key Insight: Disaggregate “first-of-a-kind” risk into bounded, manageable chunks

• Goal: 50% of UK’s SAF from Teesside within 10 years

2. Fylde Coast Energy (FCE):

• Model: SMRs + hyperscale data center clusters + charitable foundation ownership

• USP: Digital-first strategy to reduce DCO complexity with AI + structured investment phases

• Power: Start with gas and LNG barges (FreePan) → transition to SMRs

• Community: Regeneration and “reverse IKEA” decommissioning; foundation retains long-term benefit

• Quote: “Let’s stop talking. Can we just do it?” – Steve Wood

3. Chiltern Vital Berkeley (CVB):

• Site: Historic Berkeley nuclear site, adjacent to Oldbury (GBN territory)

• SMR Partner: Rolls-Royce (plus Smart 100 from Korea)

• Strategy: 700 acres of developable land + four non-floodplain data center zones

• Use Case: SMRs + private wire + AI clusters + clean heat (agritech, SAF, hydrogen)

• Advantage: Fast-track potential due to land ownership, GBN adjacency, and planning readiness

Why It’s Investable:

• SMRs are no longer “mini-gigawatt projects” — lower complexity, higher modularity

• Heat + electricity increases efficiency and value

• Hyperscalers will invest to guarantee clean, captive power

• Communities gain long-term jobs, industry and opportunity

Highlights from Audience Q&A:

Q: How do SMRs compare to renewables?

• Chris: Comparable to offshore wind on price; far more efficient when using heat

• Steve: “It's not apples-to-apples” — footprint, lifecycle, reliability matter more

• Rob: “We’re not just competing within the UK — we’re competing with Texas at 8–10¢/kWh”

Q: Do we need CFDs or RAB?

• Chris: “Nice to have, not essential. Local sales (e.g. to data centers) yield more value.”

• Steve: “Government’s role is to de-risk the early phases — not to fund the whole thing.”

• Rob: “Compared to a £25–30B data center, £7B for clean power is proportionally small.”

Enabling Innovation Through Regulation

ONR at a Glance:

• Independent regulator (split from government in 2013 after IAEA review)

• Regulates nuclear safety, security, and safeguards across the UK

• Covers diverse sites: legacy, generation, decommissioning, and new build (e.g., Hinkley Point C)

• Made up of engineers and scientists from sectors incl. nuclear, rail, aviation, semiconductors

How ONR Regulates:

• Inspections: Verifying operations align with safety documentation and best practices

• Safety Cases: Central to risk management—used to identify hazards, not just a compliance tool

• Assessment: Applied proportionally, focusing on greatest risk areas

• Enforcement: Full spectrum from advisory to prosecution, but "light-footed" by design

• Transparency: All inspector guides and regulatory expectations are published online

Supporting Innovation:

ONR’s goal-setting framework (not rules-based) enables innovation:

• Requires risk to be reduced “as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP)”

• No need for pre-existing standards if arguments for safety are sound

• Particularly suited to novel tech: SMRs, factory-built modules, AI-powered systems, co-location with digital infrastructure

“If the design is incomplete, we can’t assess it. But if it’s justified and robust, we can approve it—even if it’s never been done before.” – Andrew White

ONR & AI: A Regulatory First:

• Commissioned research to evaluate AI within nuclear

• Confirmed existing UK regulation is fit for purpose to govern AI in nuclear contexts

• Initiated regulatory sandboxing to test AI concepts with regulators and industry

• Collaborated with US NRC and Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to issue a joint international position on AI in nuclear

  • First-ever such document from global regulators

• Running “RegLabs” — sandbox-style events exploring innovative regulatory models (latest in Canada, more planned)

Global Collaboration:

• Ongoing work with IAEA, IEC, and global peers on:

  • Standards development

  • International harmonisation

  • Learning from other sectors (e.g., aviation, software, data security)

Final Thoughts

• ONR is committed to being an enabler of innovation rather than a barrier

• Encourages engagement early: “Don’t wait. Come talk to us.”

• Sees the combination of SMRs and AI-driven infrastructure as a compelling and viable future, provided risks are understood and well-managed

Terawatts for Terabytes – Scaling Data Centres and Modular Reactors

Global Trends in Data Center Development

Lars Leitner (Turner Construction):

• Turner is the largest US construction firm and the world’s top data center builder.

• AI and data center demand is exploding — never-before-seen global growth.

• Clients prioritize speed and power availability, creating intense competition between countries.

• US states now compete based on energy access. Similar dynamics are emerging in Europe.

• UK's initiative (e.g., this very panel) is a first-mover advantage in Europe. Rare elsewhere.

• Urges fast policy action and “rules of engagement” to maintain UK competitiveness.

• Modular, industrialized construction with long-term job creation must be core to the model.

Modular Deployment for Data Centers

Rob Kane (Infrapartners):

• Infrapartners builds modular, factory-built data centers for deployment anywhere.

• Their systems are scalable from edge to full campuses, across climates.

• Co-locating SMRs with data centers bypasses grid constraints.

• SMRs are not too small — they’re scalable or stackable; good match for high-density AI loads.

• Supports "Lego-style" assembly: repeatable, fast, scalable, low-risk builds.

Bridging Timelines Between SMRs and Data

Tim Kooyers (Amentum):

• SMRs = long build timelines; data centers = instant demand.

• Solution: interim energy sources now, SMRs later.

• Calls for risk-sharing business models: joint early investment by developers, operators, and financiers.

• Recommends balancing modularization (for speed) vs. site-specific customization (for nuclear safety).

• Regulation and planning reform are key to speeding up SMR deployment.

Workforce, Skills & Social Impact

Lynne Matthews (EDF):

• Led Destination Nuclear campaign – a national brand to recruit nuclear talent.

• Skills gap is severe. 40,000+ new people needed.

• Need for agile skills frameworks: welding today might be automated tomorrow.

• Strong case for modular construction methods = faster workforce development.

• Social value is vital: local hiring, community infrastructure, education partnerships.

• “We must fill the hopper now” – no time to wait on pipelines.

• National, cross-sector collaboration (civils, defense, education) is working – needs scaling.

Mutual Learning: Big Data & Nuclear

What Nuclear Can Learn from Big Data - What Big Data Can Learn from Nuclear

• Make it investable. Fundability like data centers.

• Long-term safety culture. Risk management over decades.

• Speed of deployment. Use repeatable, factory-built models.

• Regulatory navigation. Understand licensing and public accountability.

• Standardisation. Treat SMRs like cars, not buildings.

• Plan for permanence. Data infrastructure lifespan is rising.

• Marketing & branding. Normalise nuclear in public perception.

• Partner early. Collaborate with developers and regulators from day one.

  
  

 Key Recommendations:

• SMR Deployment should align with modular construction and manufacturing principles — "designed for manufacture and assembly" (DfMA).

• Interim energy solutions (e.g., hydrogen-ready gas, LNG barges, renewables) can serve immediate data needs.

• Policy needs to catch up — investors want certainty on siting, licensing, and incentives.

• Skills investment must match tech investment. Every SMR or data hub must have a social legacy.

The Nuclear Technology Titans

Moderator: Lewis McVey – Projects Director, Mott MacDonald

Panelists: Rory O’Neill – Director of Government Affairs, Westinghouse, Andrew Champ – UK Country Leader, GE Hitachi, Harry Keeling – Strategy Director, Rolls-Royce SMR, Danny Halliday – Programme Manager, Holtec and Stephen Coates – UK Operational Lead, X-Energy

Modular Reactors for Boundless Carbon-Free Energy

Bringing together the world’s most advanced nuclear reactor developers to explore how modular reactors will enable the next era of scalable, clean, and reliable power for AI, industry, and energy security.

The Race to Deploy Modular Reactors

Each company presented a clear deployment pathway:

• Westinghouse:

  • Global footprint, strong passive safety design via AP1000.

  • Advocates for evolutionary design and rapid delivery timelines.

  • Skeptical of “SMRs as ready-to-go” – calls for realism: “There are no SMRs yet. Let’s be honest about timelines.”

• GE Hitachi:

  • BWRX-300 in Canada is furthest along – already broken ground.

  • Leverages experience from Darlington project for UK entry.

  • Pushes for regulatory harmonisation to reduce cost and duplication.

• Rolls-Royce SMR:

  • Aims for full-factory-built 470 MWe plant, not just a small PWR.

  • Emphasis on economics and scalability – targets 50–70 £/MWh LCOE.

  • Partnering with Czech Republic on six-unit fleet.

  • GBN final decision expected late spring 2025.

• Holtec:

  • Restarting Palisades plant + deploying 3x SMR-300s by 2030.

  • Building a UK manufacturing facility in South Yorkshire.

  • Strategic partnership with Hyundai for delivery capability.

• X-Energy:

  • Xe-100: 80 MWe advanced gas-cooled reactor (helium-cooled, Triso fuel).

  • First deployment: 4-pack at Dow Chemical’s Texas site (heat + power).

  • Major backing from Amazon for 5 GW across 62 units.

  • UK deployment targeted for Hartlepool, enabling regional industrial decarbonisation.

Common Ground Across Developers:

Modularity + Manufacturing

• Factory-built designs are a must – from pressure vessels to entire buildings.

• All agreed: This is not about copying large nuclear at smaller scale – it’s a rethinking of delivery and economics.

Delivery Timelines

• General consensus: UK SMR deployment will not deliver electrons before 2035.

• The real focus is now on FID by 2029 and speeding planning/DCO.

Financing and Risk

• Early units must be state-backed (via RAB) – private finance will follow.

• Success = replicability, cost reduction, and investor confidence (echoing offshore wind trajectory).

 Global Synergies

• Cross-border regulatory collaboration is critical (UK/US/Canada alignment is improving).

• Demand is booming in the US – potential for 100–200 GW of new nuclear by 2050.

Strategic Insights:

Finance - Risk sharing and RAB are key for first-of-a-kind. Private finance won’t come without delivery certainty.

Policy - The UK must urgently define a pipeline of sites and siting policy (e.g. CMP’s seven-criteria model).

Industrial Strategy - UK must scale manufacturing now, not later. Projects depend on factory capacity and trained labour.

AI/Data Centers - Opportunity is real – but hyperscalers will follow the cheapest, cleanest energy. SMRs must be competitive on LCOE.

Narrative:

The UK needs more international advocacy – backing these technologies on global stages to attract investment and customers:

• Harry Keeling: “If we don’t win on economics, nuclear won’t power AI in the UK.”

• Stephen Coates: “Get absolute certainty in your construction schedule.”

• Rory O’Neill: “Be more aggressive. The UK government must battle for Britain in nuclear.”

• Andrew Champ: “No one financed the first offshore turbine. SMRs are in that phase – the next ones will fly.”

The Age of AI Engineering

Multi-layered security, safety, and compliance for large-scale AI deployment in high-stakes, infrastructure-heavy sectors.

Session Summary

Palantir’s Head of AI UK, Ivan Jevremovic, delivered a highly practical presentation on how Palantir’s AI Platform (AIP) is being used to engineer intelligence and automation across industries like construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and potentially nuclear energy.

The talk focused on decision intelligence at scale—from design to operations—and how an AI-ready operating system can unify knowledge, drive productivity, and embed governance across complex workflows.

Framework: The Stack of Decision Making

💡 What goes into a decision?

• Facts: Data often scattered across siloed systems or teams.

• Reasoning: Optimisation in a narrow view often causes misalignment downstream.

• Action: Without automation or feedback loops, actions are inefficient and not scalable.

Palantir's AI Operating System

A digital architecture that unifies project data, systems, and workflows—powered by:

1. Ontology: A shared digital map of the organization’s assets, activities, and logic.

2. Security-first foundation: Role- and purpose-based access control—crucial for regulated industries.

3. Integrated toolchain: Links with existing systems (e.g. Autodesk, P6, Maximo).

4. AI augmentation: Agents that support, automate, or make decisions in complex workflows.

5. Feedback and learning loop: Every workflow improves over time via embedded human-AI iteration.

   
   

Live Demo Highlights

Ivan showed a real-time demo of Palantir’s AI platform in a construction site context, relevant to the modular nuclear/SMR infrastructure world:

• A connected digital twin of a construction project shows:

  • Project and cost overviews

  • Live IFC models linked to alerts (e.g. flow fitting delays)

  • P6 schedules surfaced through AI interfaces

• AI use case: A GPT-4 based agent helping to auto-generate procurement proposals using linked vendor, pricing, and material data from the ontology.

• Live prompt engineering: Ivan built a functioning AI tool in ~3 minutes, showing how AIP makes AI experimentation and implementation low-barrier and fast.

Key Capabilities for Critical Sectors

Relevance for SMRs / Infrastructure Projects

1. Unified digital twin

2. Better design-to-build continuity

3. AI-augmented decision making

4. Real-time scheduling, procurement, QA/QC

5. Secure, granular access

6. Vital for nuclear and classified projects

7. Grounded AI with audit trails

8. AI adoption that passes compliance reviews

9. Human-AI collaboration

10. Upskills younger workforce, codifies tribal knowledge

Strategic Insights:

• AI is not magic—it's an assistant when grounded in real data and domain logic. Domain-specific ontologies are key to making AI work reliably.

• Palantir AIP doesn’t replace, it integrates and orchestrates across tools. Reduces vendor lock-in and protects previous tech investments.

• Security isn’t a layer—it’s baked into the ontology itself. Ideal for nuclear and regulated infrastructure sectors.

• The future workforce is hybrid—AI + people. Bridges skill gaps while scaling operational capacity.

Closing Message

“Don’t wait to get perfect. Just start. In two months, one client rolled out AI to thousands of users. It wasn’t perfect, but it was drastically better—and improved from there.”

Ideal Use Cases for Nuclear / SMR Context:

• SMR fleet-wide operations platforms

• AI-assisted project delivery models for modular construction

• Digital twin + AI for site planning, consent, and commissioning

• Secure, interoperable AI deployment in high-compliance environments

New Nuclear Frontiers: Powering Beyond the Grid

Revolutionary applications of nuclear technologies in maritime, aviation, and heavy industrial decarbonisation.

1. Maritime & Offshore: The Nuclear Edge

Mark Tipping (Lloyd’s Register):

• Nuclear is re-entering maritime due to:

  • Tough IMO decarbonisation targets

  • The need for high-reliability, zero-emission propulsion

  • Competitive advantages in endurance and operational range

• Floating nuclear plants are feasible in 3 years in Korea—versus protracted UK planning.

• Marine/offshore reactors may unlock global regulatory harmonisation—IAEA’s ATLAS program is seen as a key mechanism.

• Partnership with Microsoft & Lucid Catalyst to apply AI to Lloyd’s Register data, just like NRC nuclear project data.

Ricardo Batista (IMO):

• A new technology-agnostic, performance-based nuclear code is coming to replace the outdated 1981 code written around a PWR ship.

• Floating nuclear power barges, while not currently under IMO regulation, are being discussed due to their potential for global deployment with certification frameworks.

2. Global Regulation as a Gateway

• The IMO + IAEA partnership is laying the groundwork for international nuclear ship regulation, potentially becoming a model for SMR deployment worldwide.

• Article 490 discussions in IMO (2025) aim to trigger a complete revamp of the maritime nuclear safety code.

3. Innovation from the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (Paul Nevitt)

• UKNNL is:

  • Doubling R&D efforts, esp. around advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs) like High Temperature Gas Reactors (HTGRs).

  • Working with Japan to demonstrate HTGRs by mid-2030s.

  • Building Triso fuel production capacity—ready by next year, likely world-leading outside China.

• Strong push for:

  • Building and operating advanced reactors (not just designs)

  • Fuel supply chain development

  • Practical, empirical R&D alongside AI/digital tools

4. AI x Nuclear Deployment (Michael Drury, Lucid Catalyst)

• AI is being used to radically speed up nuclear licensing and design:

  • Licensing docs like Environmental Impact Assessments can be auto-generated in 3 minutes (vs 6 months).

  • Lucid provides domain expertise and acts as trainer for AI models developed by Microsoft.

• 10 Terawatts Initiative:

  • Strategy to repower coal plants with SMRs (e.g., Project Phoenix in Ukraine).

  • Focus on high-speed, scalable deployment for:

    • AI data centers

    • Hydrogen production

    • Maritime/offshore decarbonisation

      
      

5. The Fuel Footprint Message

Paul Nevitt (NNL):

"The lifetime spent fuel from one person’s energy usage fits in a soft drink can. If we recycle, it becomes a handful of M&Ms."

A powerful communication tool to help mainstream nuclear's energy density and waste efficiency.

Strategic Takeaways

• Maritime regulation may unlock global SMR deployment models

• A harmonised marine regulatory pathway can be a shortcut for international nuclear rollouts

• R&D and physical fuel innovation are still essential

• AI is great, but empirical testing and fuel supply are the bottlenecks

• AI can compress time-to-license from years to minutes

• Opens up scalable, digital-first licensing pipelines for developers

• Floating Nuclear = Flexible, fast infrastructure

• Offshore platforms may bypass land-based planning barriers entirely

• Nuclear = Compact, high-density decarbonisation for hard-to-abate sectors

• Maritime, remote industry, hydrogen, and data centers are high-potential customers