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.
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.
Conclusion
It’s now mainly up to the regulators.
Unfortunately, there are politicians, who won’t have nuclear power at any price.
Centrica And X-energy Agree To Deploy UK’s First Advanced Modular Reactors
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Centrica.
This is the sub-heading.
Centrica and X-Energy, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC, today announced their entry into a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) to deploy X-energy’s Xe-100 Advanced Modular Reactors (“AMR”) in the United Kingdom.
These three paragraphs add more details.
The companies have identified EDF and Centrica’s Hartlepool site as the preferred first site for a planned U.K. fleet of up to 6 gigawatts.
The agreement represents the first stage in a new trans-Atlantic alliance which could ultimately mobilise at least £40 billion in economic value to bring clean, safe and affordable power to thousands of homes and industries across the country and substantive work for the domestic and global supply chain.
A 12-unit Xe-100 deployment at Hartlepool could add up to 960 megawatts (“MW”) of new capacity, enough clean power for 1.5 million homes and over £12 billion in lifetime economic value. It would be developed at a site adjacent to Hartlepool’s existing nuclear power station which is currently scheduled to cease generating electricity in 2028. Following its decommissioning, new reactors would accelerate opportunities for the site and its skilled workforce. The site is already designated for new nuclear under the Government’s National Policy Statement and a new plant would also play a critical role in generating high-temperature heat that could support Teesside’s heavy industries.
This is no toe-in-the-water project, but a bold deployment of a fleet of small modular reactors to provide the power for the North-East of England for the foreseeable future.
These are my thoughts.
The Reactor Design
The Wikipedia entry for X-energy has a section called Reactor Design, where this is said.
The Xe-100 is a proposed pebble bed high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor design that is planned to be smaller, simpler and safer when compared to conventional nuclear designs. Pebble bed high temperature gas-cooled reactors were first proposed in 1944. Each reactor is planned to generate 200 MWt and approximately 76 MWe. The fuel for the Xe-100 is a spherical fuel element, or pebble, that utilizes the tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particle nuclear fuel design, with high-assay LEU (HALEU) uranium fuel enriched to 20%, to allow for longer periods between refueling. X-energy claims that TRISO fuel will make nuclear meltdowns virtually impossible.
Note.
- It is not a conventional design.
- Each reactor is only about 76 MW.
- This fits with “12-unit Xe-100 deployment at Hartlepool could add up to 960 megawatts (“MW”) of new capacity” in the Centrica press release.
- The 960 MW proposed for Hartlepool is roughly twice the size of the Rolls-Rpoyce SMR, which is 470 MW .
- Safety seems to be at the forefront of the design.
- I would assume, that the modular nature of the design, makes expansion easier.
I have no reason to believe that it is not a well-designed reactor.
Will Hartlepool Be The First Site?
No!
This page on the X-energy web site, describes their site in Texas, which appears will be a 320 MW power station providing power for Dow’s large site.
There appear to be similarities between the Texas and Hartlepool sites.
- Both are supporting industry clustered close to the power station.
- Both power stations appear to be supplying heat as well as electricity, which is common practice on large industrial sites.
- Both use a fleet of small modular reactors.
But Hartlepool will use twelve reactors, as opposed to the four in Texas.
How Will The New Power Station Compare With The Current Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station?
Consider.
- The current Hartlepool nuclear power station has two units with a total capacity of 1,185 MW.
- The proposed Hartlepool nuclear power station will have twelve units with a total capacity of 960 MW.
- My instinct as a Control Engineer gives me the feeling, that more units means higher reliability.
- I suspect that offshore wind will make up the difference between the power output of the current and proposed power stations.
As the current Hartlepool nuclear power station is effectively being replaced with a slightly smaller station new station, if they get the project management right, it could be a painless exercise.
Will This Be The First Of Several Projects?
The press release has this paragraph.
Centrica will provide initial project capital for development with the goal of initiating full-scale activities in 2026. Subject to regulatory approval, the first electricity generation would be expected in the mid-2030s. Centrica and X-energy are already in discussions with additional potential equity partners, as well as leading global engineering and construction companies, with the goal of establishing a UK-based development company to develop this first and subsequent projects.
This approach is very similar to the approach being taken by Rolls-Royce for their small modular reactors.
Will Centrica Use An X-energy Fleet Of Advanced Modular Reactors At The Grain LNG Terminal?
This press release from Centrica is entitled Investment In Grain LNG Terminal.
This is one of the key highlights of the press release.
Opportunities for efficiencies to create additional near-term value, and future development options including a combined heat and power plant, bunkering, hydrogen and ammonia.
Note.
- Bunkering would be provided for ships powered by LNG, hydrogen or ammonia.
- Heat would be needed from the combined heat and power plant to gasify the LNG.
- Power would be needed from the combined heat and power plant to generate the hydrogen and ammonia and compress and/or liquify gases.
Currently, the heat and power is provided by the 1,275 MW Grain CHP gas-fired power station, but a new nuclear power station would help to decarbonise the terminal.
Replacement Of Heysham 1 Nuclear Power Station
Heysham 1 nuclear power station is part-owned by Centrica and EdF, as is Hartlepool nuclear power station.
Heysham 1 nuclear power station is a 3,000 MW nuclear power station, which is due to be decommissioned in 2028.
I don’t see why this power station can’t be replaced in the same manner as Hartlepool nuclear power station.
Replacement Of Heysham 2 Nuclear Power Station
Heysham 2 nuclear power station is part-owned by Centrica and EdF, as is Hartlepool nuclear power station.
Heysham 2 nuclear power station is a 3,100 MW nuclear power station, which is due to be decommissioned in 2030.
I don’t see why this power station can’t be replaced in the same manner as Hartlepool nuclear power station.
Replacement Of Torness Nuclear Power Station
Torness nuclear power station is part-owned by Centrica and EdF, as is Hartlepool nuclear power station.
Torness nuclear power station is a 1,290 MW nuclear power station, which is due to be decommissioned in 2030.
I don’t see why this power station can’t be replaced in the same manner as Hartlepool nuclear power station.
But the Scottish Nationalist Party may have other ideas?
What Would Be The Size Of Centrica’s And X-energy’s Fleet Of Advanced Modular Reactors?
Suppose.
- Hartlepool, Grain CHP and Torness power stations were to be replaced by identical 960 MW ADRs.
- Heysham 1 and Heysham 2 power stations were to be replaced by identical 1,500 MW ADRs.
This would give a total fleet size of 5,880 MW.
A paragraph in Centrica’s press release says this.
The companies have identified EDF and Centrica’s Hartlepool site as the preferred first site for a planned U.K. fleet of up to 6 gigawatts.
This fleet is only 120 MW short.
The Anonymous Widower 