Inside the Yorkshire research centre powering the nation's nuclear ambitions from tested hemp Watch Video

⏲ Duration: 2:41
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✓ Published: 27-May-2024

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In little more than 25 years – so the theory goes at least – one-quarter of the country’s electricity needs will come via homegrown nuclear power. Given the chequered history of attempts to bring through new nuclear, reaching that target by 2050 from the current 15 per cent looks ambitious.<br/>But one place central to turning those aspirations into reality is the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in South Yorkshire, which sits on land which was once part of Orgreave Colliery.<br/><br/>The facility has been used since 2012 as a base for researchers to test and develop millions of pounds worth of manufacturing innovations for the nuclear industry.<br/><br/>It mostly takes place in a giant open-plan workshop with offices on the top floor which overlook the hive of activity taking place below. It is in these offices where The Yorkshire Post is meeting CEO Andrew Storer.<br/><br/>In the earlier part of his career, Storer, originally from Derby, worked his way up through the ranks at Rolls-Royce to become part of their team tasked with setting up a civil nuclear business.<br/><br/>An initial political push in the early 2010s to find sites around the country for new nuclear power stations – a key factor in the initial establishment of the Nuclear AMRC which had Rolls-Royce as its lead industrial partner – ultimately fizzled out, partly as a consequence of concerns about the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan affecting investment decisions.<br/><br/>Storer joined the University of Sheffield-owned Nuclear AMRC in 2015 and was determined to find a viable future for the centre despite the altered political landscape.<br/><br/>It opened up to the nuclear decommissioning market, as well as defence and fusion reactors. The centre also established a supply chain programme called Fit For Nuclear.<br/><br/>Businesses involved in the programme have gone on to win more than £2bn worth of government contracts, safeguarding thousands of jobs.<br/><br/>The centre is also part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, a national network of seven specialist industry-focused research centres designed to help turn academic inventions into commercially-viable products.<br/><br/>In early 2022 following meetings with industry figures including Storer, Boris Johnson announced the launch of a new body called Great British Nuclear in a renewed attempt to bring forward projects.<br/><br/>Last week, the Government announced the start of talks with international firms about building a third major new nuclear plant at Wylfa in Anglesey which it is hoped could be similar in scale to also-planned schemes at Sizewell in Suffolk and Hinkley in Somerset. The latter is already under construction but may not open until the early 2030s.<br/><br/>In parallel to the large-scale plans, the UK is also pinning its hopes on what are known as small modular reactors (SMRs) which can be made in factories and involve a cheaper and quicker construction process. It is hoped they could be operational in this country by the mid-2030s.