Diverse SMR Siting in the UK

Chloe Howard is a co-author of the UK-published article titled "Diverse SMR Siting in the UK," which was featured in the March/April 2025 edition of the Nuclear Future Journal. She collaborated with Mike Crawforth, Neil Harman, and David Price on this work.

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are attracting growing global interest due to their flexible siting options, modular construction, and potential cost advantages from offsite manufacturing and fleet-based deployment. Unlike traditional large-scale nuclear plants, SMRs provide greater operational versatility through features such as multi-module configurations, co-generation capabilities (e.g., district heating and hydrogen production), and enhanced load-following performance. Their smaller size and use of advanced, often closed-loop cooling systems help reduce siting constraints, while their transportable nature enables deployment in remote or emergency scenarios. 

The article highlights several key areas of focus: challenges and opportunities in relation to SMR siting, co-generation applications, alternative financing models, considerations for siting next to industry, and applying the UK semi-urban criteria to five of the identified UK industrial clusters.

Read this full article titled here.