UK-US partnership accelerates new nuclear power build-out

The UK government announced a new UK–US agreement (the Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy) to speed up and expand new nuclear deployment in the UK and US.

• Main announcement and commercial deals: The partnership will fast-track reactor design checks and site licensing (reducing licensing times from roughly three–four years to around 24 months). Major commercial commitments announced include: X-Energy and Centrica planning up to 12 advanced modular reactors at Hartlepool (UK-wide programme targeting 6GW, Hartlepool project: up to 1.5 million homes, up to 2,500 jobs, programme estimated to deliver £40 billion overall with £12 billion focused on North East England); Holtec, EDF and Tritax proposing SMR-powered data centres at Cottam (project estimate £11 billion); Last Energy and DP World backed by £80 million private investment for a micro modular plant to support £1 billion London Gateway port expansion; Urenco and Radiant deal worth around £4 million to supply HALEU and support Urenco’s Advanced Fuels Facility (around 400 jobs cited at Cheshire plant); TerraPower and KBR to study UK Natrium sites (each Natrium reactor supporting ~1,600 construction jobs and ~250 permanent jobs). The announcement builds on Sizewell C support (record funding, around 10,000 jobs at peak construction) and the Rolls-Royce SMR programme.
• Background, regulatory and timeline details: The agreement refreshes a regulatory MOU to allow mutual recognition of safety/design checks, share workload on site licensing, and accelerate approvals. It extends cooperation to fusion energy with coordinated experimental programmes combining British and American expertise and AI-driven simulation tools; a Global Fusion Energy Policy Summit is slated to be co-hosted in the United States in 2026. The partnership commits to eliminate dependencies on Russian nuclear material by the end of 2028. The Nuclear Industry Association reports the sector now employs 98,000 people in the UK.