British-backed nuclear firm to raise 900 million pounds

A British-backed nuclear company backed by Italy's Agnelli family plans to raise nearly 900 million to build a fleet of small nuclear reactors in Britain.

Newcleo, based in London, has a plan to build one plant a year in the UK up to 2050 and generate 4 gigawatts of electricity, more than will be produced by the huge new nuclear plant built by EDF in Hinkley Point in Somerset.

Its fuel will be made from plutonium. Britain has one of the world s largest stores of plutonium, a waste product from traditional nuclear plants.

Newcleo could be one of the contenders in the competition announced last week by Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, for designs for small modular reactors SMRs to be built in the UK. Industry sources said it was expected that the Treasury would co-fund development of a prototype, and possibly also commit to buying power from the first commercial plants at an agreed price.

Stefano Buono, Newcleo's chief executive, said the company was happy with the competition and was waiting to see the details. However, he said that Newcleo would press ahead regardless of the outcome. He said that for us the ideal situation is that a government gives us a contract to produce power at a certain price, and then leaves us to do the rest.

The business dynasty, with its roots in the Fiat motor company, has raised more than 350 million from investors including Exor, the investment vehicle of the Agnelli family. It plans to build prototype plants in France and Italy, and is close to a final submission to Britain's Office for Nuclear Regulation to have its reactor design approved, a process that is expected to take about four years. Newcleo's design is unusual in that it uses lead as the coolant for the reactor, and a mixed-oxide fuel partly made from plutonium.

The approval process in the UK is supported by the use of these two prototypes. Buono said we'll be able to show that we have a proven and reliable technology.