Kier has announced that it will help develop small modular reactors (SMR) with US firm X-Energy.
The contractor has signed a memorandum of understanding with X-Energy and Babcock subsidiary Cavendish Nuclear to collaborate on the new technology.
The firms will have access to £3.34m from the UK Government Future Nuclear Enabling Fund, to look at how to deploy a fleet of X-Energy’s Xe-100 Generation IV Advanced Reactors in the UK.
X-Energy said it will match this funding, bringing the total to £6.68m.
Kier will be tasked with carrying out a constructability assessment for the Xe-100 in the UK, adopting lessons learnt from studies in the US and Canada.
The high-temperature gas-cooled ‘pebble bed’ reactor (pictured), like other SMRs, is designed to have a substantial proportion of modules prefabricated and transported to site for assembly, allowing for rapid construction time.
Andrew Bradshaw, group managing director for Kier Natural Resources, Nuclear & Networks, said: “We have a strong track record of constructing and upgrading nuclear facilities and are committed to using our expertise to enable safe, sustainable and efficient construction while leaving lasting legacies through our work.”
X-Energy’s UK vice president for new-build projects Carol Tansley said that Kier is “ideally placed to help us understand how best to capitalise on the work done in North America, including our first project which is already underway in Texas, and translate that into success in the UK market”.
The project will see a 12-reactor plant built in Hartlepool, which aims to be operational in the early 2030s, with the fleet subsequently extended up to 40 SMRs.
According to a statement from X-Energy, this would provide 3,200 MW of electricity, enough power for 6 million homes, or 8,000 MW of heat and steam to support zero-carbon manufacturing and industrial processes.
The firm says it aims to eventually have 80 per cent of its requirements for projects carried out under the deal met by British companies.
Glasgow gas circulator manufacturer Howden and steel producer and engineer Sheffield Forgemasters will also be involved in the work.
The nascent SMR technology has been promoted by the government for several years, with a players in the sector including a Rolls-Royce-led consortium that includes Laing O’Rourke and Bam Nuttall.
Balfour Beatty recently expanded its deal with US firm Holtec, which is looking to build the reactors in the UK.
That collaboration, also involving Hyundai and Mott MacDonald, was awarded £30m from the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund in December.
Costain was named as a partner of modular firm Newcleo, which aims to manufacture fuel from nuclear waste, in 2021.
Last month, six companies were shortlisted in a government competition for SMR designs, that would be the first to gain regulatory approval.
These firms, which have been invited to return tenders by June are: EDF; GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy International; Holtec; NuScale Power; Rolls-Royce SMR; and Westinghouse Electric Company.
The government aims to generate up to 25 per cent of electricity through nuclear energy by 2050.
