Hitachi buys UK's Horizon nuclear project

Japan’s Hitachi has signed a £700m deal to buy Horizon Nuclear Power from Germany’s E.On and RWE.

In what the company describes as “the start of a 100 year commitment to the UK”, Hitachi will build between two and three new nuclear plants at Wylfa on Anglesey and the same at Oldbury in Gloucestershire.

In total, the infrastructure could generate power for up to 14 million homes over 60 years, with the first plant expected to feed electricity into the grid in the first half of the 2020s.

Significantly, around 60% of the value of the first plant is expected to be sourced from within the UK, with more expected for subsequent units.

“I am determined that Britain competes and thrives in the global race for investment,” said prime minister David Cameron. “This is a decades-long, multi-billion pound vote of confidence in the UK, that will contribute vital new infrastructure to power our economy.”

Up to 6,000 jobs are expected to be created during construction at each site, with a further 1,000 permanent jobs at both locations once operational.

Around 60% of the value of the first plant is expected to be sourced from within the UK

Babcock and Rolls-Royce have signed preliminary contracts to join the deal, which is due for completion at the end of this month.

According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Hitachi’s plan to build Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWRs) will help to bring diversity of reactor design to the UK new nuclear programme.

ABWRs were the first of the ‘Generation III’ family of fission reactors which improve fuel and thermal efficiency and bring in passive safety features.

These features include three independent emergency core cooling systems and a basaltic reinforced concrete ‘core catcher’ below the reactor to contain the core in the event of a meltdown.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation and Environment Agency will be asked to work with Hitachi to explore how to take forward the Generic Design Assessment of the reactor design to provide certainty that it is fit for use in the UK.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey also today announced the creation of a new Nuclear Industry Council. The Council is set to play a strategic role in helping ensure that the UK’s nuclear industry can build on its strengths.