Government considering re-establishing defence nuclear fuel supply for unknown purposes. Options for re-establishing the fuel cycle for nuclear defence reactors are being considered by the UK government, but the purpose of the fuel is unclear. In November 2024 from the defence secretary John Healey. “The UK is exploring options to re-establish a nuclear fuel cycle for reactor fuel for defence purposes,” Healey said. “The government is committed to modernising defence nuclear fuel production under the Defence Nuclear Enterprise. We are commencing engagement with industry to develop options for how this requirement can be delivered.” Basic policy fellow Dave Cullen said the government would “need to produce HEU (highly enriched uranium) fuel, because this is what US, UK and the forthcoming SSN-AUKUS submarines run on”. He added he was “certain” that the new fuel cycle would be for the submarines due to be built in the UK rather than for terrestrial defence reactors, which is the only other defence nuclear energy capability the UK has had, according to information in the public realm. Cullen said that while it has not been publicly confirmed, it is “very likely” that the UK currently sources its HEU for its submarines from the US. Nuclear Information Service research manager Okopi Ajonye said: “Re-establishing a defence nuclear fuel cycle raises concerns about the potential diversion of civilian nuclear operations for defence purposes. “Ultimately, the UK’s civil uranium stocks may be redirected to support defence-linked nuclear activities. “These concerns are heightened by the Industrial strategy, which explicitly links the UK’s civil nuclear expertise to its plans for reviving the defence nuclear fuel cycle.”

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