Hartlepool Nuclear Reactor Moves To UK Regulatory Assessment
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Northern Echo.
This is the sub-heading.
Plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations moved closer after the Government approved the next regulatory stage for an advanced reactor planned for Hartlepool
These two paragraphs add more details.
The approval follows a partnership between X-energy and Centrica to build a new generation of UK nuclear power stations using Xe-100 Advanced Modular Reactors, starting in Hartlepool.
On the partnership’s first anniversary, the Government directed regulators to begin assessing X-energy’s Xe-100 reactor under the Generic Design Assessment, a major step towards commercial licensing in the UK.
This Google Map shows the area around the current Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station.
Note.
- Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station is indicated by the red arrow.
- Hartlepool serves as a major industrial, manufacturing, and logistics hub supporting offshore wind farms rather than a landing point for their electricity grid connections.
- Full details of the current nuclear power station is given in its Wikipedia entry, but here’s a summary.
- It is an Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor, which uses carbon dioxide for cooling.
- It was commissioned in 1983.
- It is scheduled to be closed in 2030.
- It produces 1,185 MW of electricity.
- The current site has rail access from the Durham Coast Line.
Nothing is said in the article about the capacity or the timescale for building the new power station.
What Will Be The Capacity Of X-energy’s New Nuclear Power Station At Hartlepool?
I took a quick look with Google AI and received this answer.
AI Overview
X-energy’s planned new nuclear power station at Hartlepool is proposed to have a capacity of up to 960 megawatts (MW), using a 12-unit deployment of its Xe-100 advanced modular reactors.
Project Details
Technology: X-energy Xe-100 high-temperature, gas-cooled small modular reactor (each individual unit generates 80 MW of electricity).
Configuration: A 12-reactor plant (“12-pack” multi-unit layout).
Location: Adjacent to the existing Hartlepool Power Station in Teesside, northeast England.
Timeline: First electricity generation is targeted for the mid-2030s, following the scheduled closure of the current operating plant.
That was an excellent answer, that gave me all I needed.
Hartlepool’s Rail Links
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Durham Coast Line and the rail links to the current Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station.
Note.
- The orange track going North-South across the map is the Durham Coast Line between Newcastle and Middlesbrough.
- Hartlepool station is indicated by the blue arrow.
- A rail connection goes East from the Durham Coast Line to the Port of Hartlepool and the current Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station, which I believe is the big square building by the black line.
- Hartlepool station is served by six trains per day (tpd) to and from London King’s Cross, with five tpd on Sundays.
- All London services are operated by open access operator Grand Central Trains, who have new Hitachi Class 820 tri-mode trains on order for delivery in 2028.
Current timings are a few minutes over three hours, but I suspect that the new Hitachi trains could do the trip very close to three hours.
Toyota Confirms Hydrogen Hilux For 2028 With 248 Mile Range
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Motor1.
This is the sub-heading.
Hilux FCEV production starts in 2028 for European fleets, with 248 miles of range, strong towing, and five-minute refueling pitches
These two paragraphs give more details.
Toyota just put a number on the hydrogen Hilux, and it is bigger than anything the electric version can manage. At IAA Transportation 2026 in Hannover the automaker outlined plans for a Hilux fuel cell model targeting a 2028 launch for European professional customers.
The target is 248 miles of WLTP range and 5,512 pounds of towing, plus roughly a five-minute refuel when a station is operating normally. That is a work truck pitch built to beat the battery-electric Hilux on the two numbers that matter most to fleets.
It looks to me, that Toyota have done their research on the specification.
I can verify, that a lot of horsey folk and farmers will find it fits their needs well.
UK Offshore Wind In 2030 – Calculated September 2026
The next general election is likely to be held in 2029, so how much wind energy will be added before the next Parliament?
The Current Position
The Wikipedia entry for the list of operational wind farms in the UK, says this.
In July 2025, there were offshore wind farms consisting of 2,809 turbines with a combined capacity of 16,035 megawatts.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2026
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2026.
- Dogger Bank A – 1235 MW – Fixed
- East Anglia 3 – 1372 MW – Fixed
- Sofia – 1400 MW – Fixed
This would add 3 wind farms and 4,007 MW to give a total of 20,042 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2027
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2027.
- Dogger Bank B – 1235 MW – Fixed
- Dogger Bank C – 1218 MW – Fixed
- Inch Cape – 1080 MW – Fixed
- Llŷr 1 – 100 MW – Floating
- Llŷr 2 – 100 MW – Floating
- Norfolk Boreas – 1380 MW – Fixed
This would add 6 wind farms and 5,113 MW to give a total of 25,155 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2028
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2028.
- East Anglia 2 – 963 MW – Fixed
- Hornsea 3 – 2852 MW – Fixed
This would add 2 wind farms and 3,815 MW to give a total of 28,970 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2029
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2029.
- Green Volt – 400 MW – Fixed
- Norfolk Vanguard East – 1545 MW – Fixed
- Norfolk Vanguard West – 1545 MW – Fixed
This would add 3 wind farms and 3,490 MW to give a total of 32,460 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2030
It would appear these wind farms will come on-line in 2030.
- Caledonia – 2000 MW – Fixed
- Erebus – 100 MW – Floating
- Five Estuaries – 1080 MW – Fixed
- MarramWind – 3000 MW – Floating
- Mona – 1500 MW – Fixed
- Morecambe – 480 MW – Fixed
- N3 Project – 495 MW – Mixed
- North Falls – 504 MW – Fixed
- Outer Dowsing – 1500 MW – Fixed
- Pentland – 92.5 MW – Floating
- Ramplion 2 – 1200 – Fixed
This would add 11 wind farms and 11,951.5 MW to give a total of 44,411.5 MW.
Due To Be Commissioned In 2031
It would appear this wind farms will come on-line in 2031.
- Awel y Môr – 775 MW – Fixed
- Berwick Bank Phase B – 1380 MW – Fixed
- Dogger Bank SE – 1500 MW – Fixed
- Dogger Bank SW – 1500 MW – Fixed
- Spiorad na Mara – 840 MW – Fixed
This would add 5 wind farms and 5,995 MW to give a total of 50,406.5 MW.
UK Offshore Wind Summary 2026 And 2031
I can now summarise UK offshore wind for the next few years.
- 2025 – 16,035 MW
- 2026 – 3 – 4,007 MW – 20,042 MW
- 2027 – 6 – 5,113 MW – 25,155 MW
- 2028 – 2 – 3,815 MW – 28,970 MW
- 2029 – 3 – 3,490 MW – 32,460 MW
- 2030 – 11 – 11,951.5 MW – 44,411.5 MW
- 2031 – 5 – 5,995 MW – 50,406.5 MW
Note.
- The first figure after the year is the number of wind farms to be commissioned that year.
- The middle figure is the expected capacity of the wind farms to be commissioned that year.
- The last figure is the expected total offshore wind capacity at the end of that year.
- Typically, we need about 30 to 35 GW to power the UK.
- The next general election must be held by the 15th August 2029.
So whoever wins the election will inherit a windfall of just under 12 GW of offshore wind.
Centrica, X-energy Advance Nuclear Plans As UK Regulators To Begin Design Review For Xe-100
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
This is the sub-heading.
On the one-year anniversary of the Centrica X-energy partnership being signed, the UK Government has directed regulators to accept the X-energy Xe-100 Advanced Modular reactor into the Generic Design Assessment, marking a significant step toward UK commercial licensing.
Under their partnership, the companies intend to deploy up to 6 GW of new nuclear capacity in the UK (10-20 Xe-100 power stations depending on size of each installation)
These first two paragraphs add some details.
Centrica and X‑Energy, Inc., a leading developer of advanced nuclear reactors and fuel technology, today announced that X‑energy’s Xe‑100 Generation IV advanced Small Modular Reactor (“SMR”) has been accepted into the United Kingdom’s Generic Design Assessment (“GDA”) process.
GDA acceptance formally triggers the process of assessing the design’s acceptability for deployment and operation ahead of the technical and environmental evaluations required for site‑specific licensing and permitting. The assessment is expected to take approximately three years and will be administered by the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (“ONR”), the Environment Agency (EA), and Natural Resources Wales
To learn more, I asked Google AI for what it knows on the Xe-100 reactor and I received this.
The Xe-100 is an advanced Generation IV high-temperature gas-cooled pebble-bed small modular nuclear reactor developed by the American company X-energy.
Key Specifications & Design
Power Output: Generates about 80 megawatts of electricity (MWe) or 200 MW thermal per unit, and can be scaled up into a four-pack configuration yielding 320 MW.
Cooling System: Uses inert helium gas instead of water to remove heat from the core, reaching operating temperatures above 750°C.
Fuel Type: Runs on proprietary TRISO-X fuel pebbles, where each billiard-ball-sized pebble contains roughly 18,000 microscopic TRISO fuel particles that act as individual containment vessels.
Note.
- 320 MW may seem small, but you have to remember Sizewell A was two 210 MW Magnox reactors and it operated for forty years.
- I like the choice of helium for a coolant. Especially, as the gas is widely used for cooling superconducting magnets, so there must be plenty of expertise.
- Helium is also present in the atmosphere at 5.2 parts per million.
- I also like the concept of the fuel pebbles.
These are some of my questions.
Who Are The Technology Partners Of X-energy?
I had to ask Google AI this question and received this reply.
X-energy works with major technology, industrial, and energy partners to develop and deploy its advanced small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) and TRISO-based fuel technology.
Key Technology and Strategic Partners
Amazon and AWS: A primary investor (through the Climate Pledge Fund) and customer, Amazon collaborates with X-energy on scaling nuclear energy for data centers and AI infrastructure. X-energy, Amazon Web Services (AWS), NVIDIA, and Idaho National Laboratory are founding members of Project Prometheus to apply AI to advanced nuclear deployment.
NVIDIA: A founding partner in Project Prometheus alongside AWS and Idaho National Laboratory, helping integrate AI accelerators and tools into nuclear design and operations.
Doosan Enerbility & Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP): South Korean industrial partners collaborating to support multi-gigawatt deployments of Xe-100 reactors and manufacture key components.
Energy Northwest: A utility partner working on X-energy’s first-of-a-kind project development in Washington state.
Dow Inc.: Partnered with X-energy to deploy an initial four-unit Xe-100 plant at Dow’s Seadrift chemical manufacturing site in Texas.
Centrica: Partnered through a Joint Development Agreement to deploy Advanced Modular Reactors and pursue up to 6 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity in the United Kingdom.
IHI Corporation: Partnered to expand U.S.-Japan supply chain collaboration and commercial-scale manufacturing for reactor components.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Collaborates with X-energy’s fuel subsidiary, TRISO-X, on advanced nuclear fuel research.
Note.
- There are companies and organisations here from Korea, Japan, the US and the UK.
- Do Amazon and Centrica see an Xe-100 reactor as a reliable way of powering a data centre without a grid connection?
- The Korean and Japanese companies would be ideal to ensure the quality of reactor and other key compoonents.
- Chemical manufacturing sites use a lot of electricity and Dow’s contribution could define a widespread use of the Xe-100.
- Oak Ridge have been a client of mine in the past and like AWRE in England, I would trust their nuclear technology.
I also believe that if you put these companies in a joint venture, you’ll get out more ideas than you expect.
Who Are The Financial Partners Of X-energy?
I had to ask Google AI this question and received this reply.
Amazon & Climate Pledge Fund: Led major funding rounds (including a $500 million investment in 2024 and ongoing backing) and holds a significant stake in the company.
Jane Street: Led X-energy’s oversubscribed $700 million Series D financing round.
Ares Management: Provided financial backing and funds across multiple investment rounds alongside special purpose acquisition sponsorships.
Emerson Collective: Participated as a key venture capital backer across multiple funding rounds.
NGP Energy Capital Management: Contributed significant capital through multiple financing stages.
Segra Capital Management: Acted as an ongoing financial participant in major capital raises.
Other Investors: Includes ARK Invest, Point72, Galvanize, Ken Griffin (Citadel founder), XTX Ventures, Reaves Asset Management, and the University of Michigan.
Note that like the technology, the finance comes from a wide variety of sources.
This all sounds like a good positive start.
Will Centrica, X-energy Be Going For A Multi-Country Design Review For Xe-100?
There are four major countries with extensive nuclear power experience, with stakes in the Xe-100; Japan, Korea, the US and the UK.
There is also Oak Ridge in the US, which appears to be supplying the concept of the fuel.
If this group can’t convince the regulators in these four countries, that they have a safe and viable project, then they shouldn’t be in business.
Conclusion
It’s now mainly up to the regulators.
Unfortunately, you get stories with titles like this article on the BBC, which have a title of Green Party Leader Criticises Nuclear Reactor Plan.
Will Battery-Powered Trains Change The Future Of UK Rail Travel?
The title of this post, is the same as this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A near £1bn investment will see the UK’s first battery-electric trains for long-distance main line services built in Derby, which Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said will “bring faster, more reliable journeys to the north”
These are the first two paragraphs.
The new trains will replace diesel power with electricity, and seek to cut journey times by up to 10 minutes between Manchester and Leeds, and up to 14 minutes between Manchester and York.
So are batteries set to drive forward a new electric future of train travel in the UK?
Alstom’s press release and other sources on the order, add more details.
- The trains will be based on the Adessia platform.
- There will be 29 five-car trains.
- It looks like they will replace the 51 three-car Class 185 trains.
- Wikipedia says they are 110 mph trains.
- The trains will be British-designed and built.
The trains will have level boarding at every door, of which the BBC article has a visualisation.
The BBC article has a long section about battery trains and is well-worth a full read.
The BBC explains how the trains will charge their batteries.
- On electrified sections the batteries will be charged from the overhead wires.
- According to Alstom, when the train brakes, the electric motors “work in reverse as generators, which captures braking energy”, which would normally be lost as heat energy.
- This will also be fed back into the on-board battery.
- The manufacturer added rapid charging facilities would also be installed as part of the contract at stations in Hull, Scarborough and Saltburn.
This is all proven technology, which is used all round the world and on Merseyrail in the UK.
Did My InterCity225 From Leeds Arrive Like An Airliner In King’s Cross?
Consider.
- I took the 18:40 from Leeds to London King’s Cross today.
- The train was an British Rail-era InterCity 225 in superb condition.
- The train consisted of a Class 91 electric locomotive and seven Mark 4 coaches.
- The train was scheduled to stop at Wakefield Westgate, Doncaster, Grantham and Peterborough.
- The Southern section of the East Coast Main Line is fully digitally-signalled at least as far as Welwyn.
- I assume that means Welwyn North station, which is to the North of the Digswell Viaduct.
- According to Real Time Trains my train was on time, one minute fast, four minutes fast and two minutes fast at the four stops.
- South of Welwyn North station, the train is shown as either one or two minutes ahead of schedule.
- The train arrived in London King’s Cross a minute ahead of schedule at 20:52.
As a Graduate Control Engineer, I believe that from Welwyn North station, the signalling was being used to instruct the driver, what speed he needed to arrive in King’s Cross on time.
This resulted in the slight oscillations in the scheduled time, between Welwyn North station and London King’s Cross.
These are my further thoughts.
Just Like An Airliner
I have well over a thousand hours in command of light aircraft and I held an IMC rating, which is a UK-only qualification, so you can do limited flying on instruments.
As an example, I have done full instrument approaches at major airports like
Belfast Harbour, Dublin, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Leeds, Liverpool, Naples, Prestwick and Stansted, where you guide the plane in so that it is a certain height, at a particular distance from the runway.
Your instruments tell you the height to be at and the direction to fly using a device called an instrument landing system or ILS.
With trains, I suspect, digital signals just give the train or driver, a speed at which to travel.
I believe that if the train is instructed by the digital signals a higher percentage of trains will more likely arrive on time or perhaps up to a couple of minutes early.
The Newark Flat Crossing
I wrote about this notorious piece of track in The Newark Crossing.
My train today crossed the Newark Crossing, exactly on time.
- So was it being digitally-controlled through the crossing?
- Many trains on the East Coast Main Line cross the Newark Crossing within a couple of minutes of their scheduled time.
- For the system to work well trains crossing the East Coast Main Line must also be under control of the digital signalling or the drivers must adhere closely to their schedules.
I believe that full digital signalling will improve safety, where trains cross, join or leave a main line.
Crossing The Digswell Viaduct
This is a two-track section between Welwyn Garden City and Welwyn North stations.
- Various plans to make it four-track have been abandoned over the years, as it would cost billions of pounds.
- My train ran through the section two minutes ahead of schedule.
- Looking at trains on the section between Welwyn Garden City and Welwyn North stations, they seem to maintain the same difference from their scheduled time.
I believe that the digital signalling could be instructing the trains, so that scheduled times are maintained.
Conclusion
I believe as a Graduate Control Engineer, that applying full digital signalling to the UK’s railways, will have the following effects.
- Improved timekeeping.
- Increased safety.
- More capacity.
- It could save on the cost of new infrastructure, by avoiding the building of new track, bridges and flyovers.
- From my experience of installing control systems on industrial plant at Enfield Rolling Mills and ICI, many trains and locomotives can be fitted with add-on control systems. In fact, full digital signalling has already been applied to steam locomotives.
We should complete digital-signalling for the East Coast Main Line and then roll it out for other lines, in order of importance.
British American Tobacco Sponsored Reform UK Conference
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Nigel Farage has promised to scrap the law that will ban everyone born after 2008 from smoking
These are the first two paragraphs of the article.
The maker of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes was a prominent sponsor at the annual conference of Reform UK, which has vowed to scrap the incoming lifelong smoking ban.
British American Tobacco and its Omni brand, an initiative to further its nicotine products business, was the sponsor on lanyards worn by delegates at the party’s conference in Birmingham this month.
Let’s hope that a serious politician protects us from this dangerous individual.
I write as someone, who lost his wife, because her tutor at university, insisted on smoking Capstan Full Strength all through tutorials.
She used to smell of tobacco smoke, a lot of the time.
My wife died of a squamous cell carcinoma of the heart in 2007, which is not a nice way to go. Papworth said it was a delayed secondary cancer from all that smoke-filled atmosphere many years before.
Few years earlier, she had fully recovered from serious breast cancer, but then she got the totally unrelated secondary cancer.
Her sad death is one of several, that are highlighted in this post about a study at Cambridge University, which I wrote about in Study Highlights Increased Risk Of Second Cancers Among Breast Cancer Survivors.
Sadly, her selfish tutor is still with us.
S
Should Number 10 North Have Good Rail Connections To London?
The answer to this question must be Yes! But it must also have good rail connections to the rest of the UK.Heron House
The current Number 10 North is at Heron House, which is shown on this OpenRailwayMap.
Note.
- The green lines are Manchester’s Metrolink.
- Piccadilly Gardens with its tram stop is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The tram lines going South-East from Piccadilly Gardens go to Manchester Piccadilly station.
- The tram lines going North-East from Piccadilly Gardens go to Manchester Victoria station.
- In the middle of the map, there is St. Peter’s Square tram stop, which are within a five-minute walk to the circular Manchester Central Library and the triangular Manchester Town Hall.
- Heron House is on the opposite side of Albert Square to Manchester Town Hall.
Andy Burnham has obviously chosen a location he knows well from his nine years as the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Long-term there are plans to move Number 10 North to the Manchester Digital Campus in Great Ancoats Street, Ancoats, Manchester, when construction is completed around 2032.
This Google Map shows the location of Great Ancoats Street with respect to Manchester City Centre.
Note.
- Great Ancoat’s Street appears to be part of Manchester’s Inner Ring Road.
- Google placed the red arrow, but I suspect Number 10 North could be somewhere near the arrow.
- Manchester Piccadilly station is not marked on the map, but is about a 0.8 mile South-West of the red arrow, at the end of the rail line going South-East from the map.
- Number 10 North should be about a 5 to 10 minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly station.
- Currently, there is no tram running in this direction.
- The two stations in the South-West corner of the map are Deansgate in the West and Manchester Oxford Road in the East.
- The fourth station in Manchester City Centre is Manchester Victoria in the North-West corner of the map, by the AO Arena and Manchester Cathedral.
- Located between Deansgate, Oxford Road and Victoria stations is a white triangle, which is Manchester Town Hall, with the current location of Number 10 North at Heron House to its West.
- There don’t appear to be any trams on Great Ancoat’s Street, but there are buses between Manchester Victoria and Great Ancoat’s Street, which take about 11-20 minutes.
- As an alternative between Manchester Victoria and Great Ancoat’s Street, you can take a tram to New Islington and walk.
This brief look seems to indicate, that to get to Great Ancoat’s Street, you either walk from Manchester Piccadilly or take trams or buses and a short walk from Manchester Victoria.
This OpenRailwayMap shows Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria and New Islington.
Note.
- Manchester Victoria station is indicated by a blue arrow.
- Manchester Piccadilly station is towards the bottom of the map.
- New Islington tram stop is North-West of Manchester Piccadilly on the green tram line to the Etihad Stadium and Ashton-Under-Lyme tram stops.
- The Etihad Stadium can be seen three tram stops on from New Islington at the Eastern edge of the map.
- Passengers going between Manchester Victoria and New Islington would change trams at Picadilly Gardens tram stop.
I believe that the Future Number 10 North will be within easy walking distance of the New Islington tram stop.
Current London And Manchester Services
Avanti West Cost currently run three hourly trains between Euston and Manchester Piccadilly.
- 1 train per hour (tph) stops at Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport
- 1 tph stops at Nuneaton, Stoke-on-Trent, Stockport
- 1 tph stops atStafford, Crewe, Wilmslow, Stockport
I don’t think this gives a wide enough coverage of stations.
Lumo’s Proposed London And Manchester Services
Lumo want to run six daily trains between between Euston and Rochdale.
These will stop at Warrington Bank Quay, Newton-le-Willows, Eccles and Manchester Victoria.
Note.
- This could be a fast service, as it is proposed to be non-stop between Euston and Warrington Bank Quay.
- It will probably be only five-cars, which would give no problems terminating at Euston and Rochdale stations.
- Eccles and Rochdale are in Greater Manchester.
- Currently, Warrington Bank Quay, Newton-le-Willows, Eccles and Manchester Victoria don’t have direct trains to London.
- I can see this service appealing to thrifty Yorkshire folk, as Rochdale has 3 tph to Hebden Bridge and Leeds, 2 tph to Halifax and Bradford Interchange, and 1 tph to Brighouse and Dewsbury.
- It could be a low-cost service.
I can see it being successful.
Trump Vows To Give Every Adult $5,000 If He Wins Midterms
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
At the first-ever Republican midterm convention, speakers called the Democrats ‘communists’ and championed the president’s policies of ‘common sense’
These are the first two paragraphs.
President Trump pledged to issue a “dividend” of $5,000 to every American adult if the Republicans hold the House and Senate in the midterm elections.
Speaking at the opening night of the first-ever Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Trump said the payout — which would amount to $1.35 trillion — had only one caveat: that it should be spent in the United States.
I first read this story, whilst I was recovering in Homerton Hospital, after a fall that appeared to knock me out in my bedroom. I suspect a rug slipped, while I was getting dressed.
Reports of the convention, sound more like that of a Mafia or drug-dealers convention, than that of a supposedly responsible political party.
Tisbury Station – 26th August 2026
I took these pictures during my time at Tisbury station.
Note
- The Flowers Were From The Bee Friendly Trust.
- The Station Has A London Rail Map.
- The Station Has A Parcel Pick-Up.
- The station is dark sky friendly. It is the only one in the UK.
It seems to have most things you need.
The Anonymous Widower 