UK and US Set to Finalize Nuclear Energy Deal During Trump’s Upcoming Visit
America’s Going Nuclear:: Move to boost “Strategic Uranium Reserve” and fast-track permitting for a South Dakota uranium mine.
The United Kingdom (UK) and the United States will sign a significant agreement, called the Atlantic Partnership for Advanced Nuclear Energy, to accelerate the development and deployment of nuclear power in both countries.
This pact, unveiled during President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK, aims to advance clean energy innovation, boost energy security, and reduce reliance on Russian nuclear materials by 2028.
Britain’s government has launched a major push to expand nuclear power in recent months, pledging to invest 14 billion pounds ($19 billion) in a new plant at Sizewell C and advancing plans for a Rolls-Royce (RR.L) unit to build the country’s first small modular reactors (SMR).
Trump arrives in Britain for a two-day visit on Tuesday, during which he and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will announce the nuclear power tie-up. The collaboration aims to speed up new projects and investments, including plans expected to be announced by U.S. nuclear reactor company X-Energy and Britain’s Centrica (CNA.L) to build up to 12 advanced modular reactors in northeast England.
An 11 billion pound ($15 billion) project to develop advanced data centres powered by SMRs in central England at the former Cottam coal-fired power station set to be announced by U.S. company Holtec International, France’s EDF and real estate partner Tritax, is also on the cards, the statement added.
“These major commitments set us well on course to a golden age of nuclear that will drive down household bills in the long run,” Starmer said on Monday.
UK and US unveil nuclear energy deal ahead of Trump visit | Charlotte Edwards, BBC
The UK and US are set to sign an agreement aimed at accelerating the development of nuclear power.
The move aims to generate thousands of jobs and strengthen Britain's energy security.
It is… pic.twitter.com/CGzSBbI1lg
— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) September 15, 2025
The deal streamlines regulatory and licensing timelines, aiming to cut approval processes for new nuclear projects from three or four years to about two, enabling faster construction of nuclear plants in both the UK and the US.
“It’s really important because nuclear design assurance is incredibly expensive and incredibly cumbersome,” said Adam Bell, a former British government energy official and now director of policy at Stonehaven, a consulting firm.
If each country can accept regulatory signoffs from the other, he added, “that enables us both to deploy nuclear much more quickly.”
The government said the arrangement could help Rolls-Royce, the jet engine maker, speed up exports of the small modular nuclear reactor it is developing.
I have previously discussed the Trump administration’s interest in the development of small modular reactors (SMRs), when Oak Ridge in Tennessee was selected as the site for the construction of a unit for Google.
However, the agreement with the British isn’t the only indication that the push to develop our nuclear energy capabilities is underway. There is now an effort to boost the nation’s “strategic uranium reserve” to protect against Russian threats to our supply of the mineral.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright comments underscore the Trump administration’s plans to promote nuclear energy as the demand for power soars with the electrification of the economy. Russia supplies about a quarter of the enriched uranium needed by America’s fleet 94 nuclear reactors, which generate about a fifth of U.S. electricity. Turning the tap off too quickly from that source could endanger about five per cent of electricity in the absence of alternative suppliers or additional stockpiles.
“We’re moving to a place — and we’re not there yet — to no longer use Russian enriched uranium,” Wright said Monday in Vienna, where he’s attending the IAEA’s annual general conference.
…The first Trump administration proposed a uranium reserve in 2020 and sought US$150 million to purchase the metal directly from U.S. producers, though Congress only provided half of that. The concept also gained support from the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden. The U.S. Energy Department in 2022 awarded contracts for the purchase of hundreds of thousands of pounds of uranium for the reserve from miners including Energy Fuels, Inc. and Uranium Energy Corp.
With an average of just 14 months of uranium on inventory, data compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency shows inventories held by U.S. companies trail peers in Europe and Asia. The European Union has enough fuel on hand to power existing reactors for two-and-a-half years, while China maintains stockpiles equivalent to 12 years current generation, according to IAEA data published last quarter.
🚨 Bloomberg: U.S. to boost its Strategic Uranium Reserve
This isn’t just policy – it’s a signal. Uranium is now treated like oil, a strategic reserve asset.For $OKLO and other advanced nuclear players, that means:
⚡ More fuel security
⚡ Stronger gov’t backing
⚡ Faster… pic.twitter.com/r1ukcMNwE9— Roman Iospa (@DevelopAll) September 15, 2025
To conclude this post, I would like to note that federal officials have now selected a uranium mining proposal in the Black Hills of South Dakota for an expedited permitting process. The paperwork has been languishing on bureaucratic desks for over 20 years.
That doesn’t mean the Dewey Burdock project is greenlit. Instead, it means the project will be included in FAST-41, a federal process meant to improve coordination among permitting agencies and hold them accountable to deadlines. The 25-person federal Permitting Council says it can shave 18 months off a project’s review time.
The Dewey Burdock project — named for rural locations near Edgemont along the southwestern edge of the Black Hills — has been in the works for nearly two decades. It requires numerous federal, state and local permits, and has been mired in administrative and court appeals for years.
The FAST-41 process was created by Title 41 of the “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act,” signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2015. Coverage originally focused on transportation infrastructure. It was expanded to mining projects during the final days of Donald Trump’s first presidential administration in 2021.
Trump signed an executive order earlier this year directing federal officials to accelerate domestic critical mineral production, including copper, zinc, titanium and uranium. His administration is increasingly using FAST-41 to carry out the order.
The Dewey-Burdock uranium mining project, located near Edgemont, is joining a federal deadline process that seeks to support key infrastructure.https://t.co/zGXho78VZO
— SDPB News (@SDPBNews) September 9, 2025
I have often noted that nuclear energy is the most efficient energy source, and I am thrilled to see steps being taken to begin utilizing it.
America's Going Nuclear, baby! https://t.co/K6mmoynKv5
— Leslie Eastman ☥ (@Mutnodjmet) September 16, 2025
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Comments
I’m fascinated by the decision to write the U.K. into this agreement. Why do it?
There are only two possible answers that I can think of:
1. Despite the current shite-show in the U.K. they are still viewed as a valuable ally worth of supporting. Personally I think that the U.K. has shrunken from a powerful empire to a few little islands in a good location, but others may disagree apparently.
2. Throughout at least the first 75 years of the last century nobody and I mean nobody could beat the British Boffins at pure research. They can’t build a bloody tea-kettle but if you’ve got a physics problem, they’re your lads!
UK is a conquered country. I’m not sure any agreements would be worth the paper they’re written on.
those eco terrorists are rejoicing that they can move ahead with their agendas,,but we cant allow ourselves to be stopped by them
maga
Nuclear is not yet as efficient as fossil fuels, but it’s a heck of a lot more efficient than ruinables (green energy because of how many greenbacks it burns to produce very, very little). In that regard, Cuomo was an idiot to shut down the Indian Point nuclear power plant that supplied a quarter of NYC’s electricity.
I find it more than passing disturbing that we are sharing nuclear technology with britain before it becomes a Caliphate. It is bad enough that said Caliphate is going to inherit the brit nuclear stockpile and delivery means.
Subotai Bahadur
Now if only certain other civilised parts of the world would start being as smart as this e.g. Australia, certain parts of Europe …
Until the UK is reliably NOT going Islamofascist, we should be insisting on taking absolute control of their nuclear arsenal and program. Not helping them create more uranium.