Accelerating Nuclear Roll-out: The UK Doesn’t Need More Ambition, It Needs Delivery

The UK is not short of ambition on nuclear. It is short of delivery.

We have clear net zero targets. We know electricity demand will rise sharply as transport, industry and data infrastructure electrify. And we understand, unequivocally, that without nuclear, the UK cannot deliver reliable, low-carbon baseload power at scale.

Yet despite this, we continue to move too slowly. Projects take too long. Costs are too high. And the system we have built to deliver nuclear is no longer fit for purpose.

The case for nuclear has been made, it is now about how we deliver new nuclear capacity, at pace.

A System That Cannot Deliver at Pace

The UK has one of the safest nuclear regulatory environments in the world. That should not change. But we have also created a system that is overly complex, risk-averse, and fragmented, driving delay without improving outcomes.

The Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce's 2025 Review makes this clear: the UK has become one of the most expensive places globally to build infrastructure, including nuclear, with systemic inefficiencies embedded across regulation and delivery.

Projects must navigate multiple regulators, overlapping approvals, and duplicated processes. The result is predictable – delay, cost escalation, and a culture where the safest option becomes the most expensive one, regardless of proportionality.

This is not a technology problem. It is a delivery problem.

Three Priorities for Action

If the UK is serious about accelerating nuclear roll-out, three things must happen.

1. Industrialise Delivery

We cannot build a fleet of reactors as if each one is a one-off prototype.

Countries that succeed in nuclear delivery standardise designs, replicate projects, and industrialise construction.  In the UK the current approach, treating each nuclear project as a unique, isolated endeavour, can no longer continue. It is essential to avoid a repeat of the so-called “Hinkley-Sizewell gap”, which refers to the eight-year period between the commencement of construction at Hinkley Point C and that at Sizewell C. During this prolonged interval, many highly skilled and specialised workers will be compelled to seek employment in other sectors. This dispersal of expertise not only depleted the available talent pool but also resulted in significantly higher costs and delays when it became necessary to “re-mobilise” teams for the next major project.

Industrialised delivery, based on modularisation, standardisation, and digital engineering, must become the default. Tools such as Model-Based Systems Engineering and digital twins significantly reduce rework, improve coordination, and accelerate decision-making. News this month that TerraPower will be able to fast track the early-stage site engineering and design phase by applying cutting-edge AI and digital twin technology is transformational for the nuclear sector.

At Assystem, we see this first-hand. When engineering and digital capability are integrated effectively, projects move faster and risks are managed more efficiently.

The UK does not need new ideas here. It needs to adopt proven ones, at scale.

2. Fix Governance

Nuclear in the UK is still treated as a series of individual projects. It is not. It is a national programme.

And right now, that programme lacks the coordination and accountability required to deliver at pace.

Fragmented decision-making is a major barrier. When multiple organisations can delay progress, but no single entity is accountable for delivery, projects stall.

Stronger programme governance, clearer accountability, and faster decision-making are essential. Recommendations from the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce’s Review call for a more unified regulatory structure and it is encouraging to see that the ONR is making swift progress in establishing a new Commission for Nuclear Regulation as part of these changes.

The principle is simple: if decisions take years, projects will take decades.

3. Restore Proportionality in Regulation

The UK’s approach to risk has become unbalanced.

The ALARP principle, reducing risk “as low as reasonably practicable”, is sound. But in practice, it can come down to individual judgment that sufficient risk reduction is demonstrated, and the emphasis has shifted toward eliminating risk at almost any cost.

This has created a culture of over-specification and “gold-plating,” where marginal safety improvements drive disproportionate increases in cost and delay.

A future structure should look at shifting from precaution-dominated judgement towards structured, evidence-based balancing of risk vs benefit, applied consistently and transparently.

This keeps safety high whilst avoiding unnecessary cost and over-engineering.

The Review of the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce highlights this clearly: excessive risk aversion and process-driven decision-making are now systemic issues.

We need to rebalance.

Safety must remain paramount, but it must be delivered proportionately. Delays to nuclear projects are not neutral; they have real consequences for energy security, emissions, and economic growth.

The Skills Challenge

Even with the right systems in place, delivery will fail without the right people. The UK nuclear industry is already at a record high, employing 87,000 people, however the Nuclear Skills Plan has forecasted the need for an additional 40,000 workers this decade, which does not account for the replacement of those entering retirement.   

We need to take rapid action to accelerate training, attract new talent, and make better use of global expertise.

Digital tools also have a role to play. AI and data-driven engineering can help manage complexity, support decision-making, and increase productivity, enhancing, not replacing, human capability.

Learning from Others

Other countries are already moving faster.

The UAE delivered a full nuclear programme in just over a decade. France continues to demonstrate the benefits of a fleet-based approach. Across the US and Europe, regulatory reform is being used to accelerate deployment.

The UK has the same technical capability. What it lacks is alignment.

The Role of Industry

Industry must play its part.

We need to challenge unnecessary complexity, push back on disproportionate requirements, and adopt more efficient delivery models. At Assystem, our role is to support that shift, combining innovative engineering, project delivery, and digital expertise to enable faster, safer, and more cost-effective delivery outcomes.

But industry cannot do this alone. It requires coordinated action across government, regulators, and the supply chain.

Enable New Financing Models  

Nuclear remains highly capital-intensive and the cost of capital and perceived risks continues to deter purely private-sector investment. New finance models such as the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) are essential to unlocking institutional capital moving forward and the Sizewell C capital structure is backed by the RAB funding model.  SMRs offer potential to reduce scale risk and attract new funding sources if standardised and repeatable. Public-private partnerships, tech-sector Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), and multilateral backing are emerging as critical enablers of nuclear scale-up. 

The Bottom Line

The UK has made its strategic choice: nuclear is essential to its energy future.

Domestically the country sets to benefit from long-term stability driven by nuclear’s ability to deliver energy security, decarbonisation, skilled jobs and industrial stability.   Globally, the UK is already recognised for its leadership in nuclear research and services and there is now the potential to lead on nuclear technology as well, through the export potential of Rolls-Royce's SMR. 

So, if executed well, nuclear’s impact is not just an energy story, it’s a long-term industrial and export strategy.

The risk now is not lack of ambition; it is failure to deliver.

With clearer governance, proportionate regulation, and an industrialised approach to delivery, the UK can move faster, without compromising safety.

We do not need more strategy.

We need to build.

 

Simon Barber, UK Managing Director, Assystem

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