Abstract

The world is currently experiencing yet another 'nuclear renaissance'. Although this phenomenon seems to recur every 50 years or so, the demand for clean, constant, reliable nuclear energy now closer than ever matches technological potential of supply, particularly in the form of small modular reactors, SMRs. The concept is still far from commercialisation, but tech giants like Google, Amazon and OpenAI  are already signing contracts for future capacity to power their energy-intensive data centres - one of the main factors driving the hype around nuclear energy. Although SMRs promise to provide clean and reliable energy, addressing energy security and decarbonisation concerns, their implementation heavily depends on resolving legal issues, which mainly involve adjusting existing regulations to provide greater certainty to investors and thus accelerate the implementation process. This paper analyses how recent reforms in the UK are enabling the country to overcome these obstacles. The central thesis is that not only technological progress, but also regulatory innovation will determine the transition of SMRs to commercial deployment.