Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 23
23
Deferred
Paragraph: 106
Maximise export potential and support critical domestic nuclear fuel cycle assets.
Recommendation
Aside from the need to import uranium, the UK has the capability to undertake critical parts of the nuclear fuel cycle, such as uranium conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication. The export potential of these strategic assets should be maximised, especially now that countries are looking to reduce their dependence on Russia for these services. The Government should ensure that critical domestic assets in the nuclear supply chain are supported, while the UK’s current ageing fleet retires.
Government Response Summary
The government's response details its commitment to designing a hydrogen storage business model by 2025, progress on consultations, and legislative frameworks, along with existing funding programs for hydrogen projects. This completely deflects from the recommendation to support and maximise the export potential of the nuclear fuel cycle.
Paragraph Reference:
106
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
77. In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government committed to designing a hydrogen storage business model by 2025, to support the growth of the hydrogen economy. 2025 is an ambitious but achievable timeline for designing a complex business model. The model needs to provide both investor certainty and value for money for government, so as to support critical transport and storage projects. In order to progress work to meet this commitment, the Government ran a consultation on the high-level design options for the hydrogen storage business model between August and November 2022. The Government response to this consultation is expected to be published shortly. The Energy Bill has been amended to provide a legislative framework underpinning the delivery of a hydrogen storage business model. It is estimated that a salt cavern purpose built for hydrogen storage will have a build time of 5–10 years, while a converted salt cavern will have a build time of between 3–5 years. Based on these timelines, it is feasible that some hydrogen storage projects could be operational by 2030 if a storage business model is designed by 2025. 78. Ahead of business model support being available, the Government has created several measures to support the development of storage assets through existing government programmes. For example, the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and Low Carbon Hydrogen Agreement will provide limited funding for costs of associated storage infrastructure for hydrogen production projects. A new approach to strategic planning for hydrogen storage infrastructure is also being developed as a priority. This will help identify and prioritise early strategically significant projects, which will inform the allocation of the storage business model. 79. Hydrogen storage will be essential for the growth of the hydrogen economy. However, any projects that are awarded production contracts to be operational before a date when any storage facilities supported by a storage business model contract would be operational, will, by design, not need storage supported by the storage business model. We therefore do not anticipate that the current storage business model timelines will put the 10GW ambition at risk.