Energy Futures Lab Annual Lecture 2022: Nuclear – at the core of the energy transition

Nuclear – at the core of the energy transition
Energy Futures Lab is delighted to host Ian Funnell for our 2022 Annual Lecture.

Ian is the chair of Energy Futures Lab’s Advisory Board and has had a long and distinguished career in the global energy sector. He joined ABB in 1999, where he became Director of Major Projects and later Managing Director of Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission. Ian was Chief Executive Officer of ABB UK from 2015-2019, before becoming CEO of Hitachi ABB Power Grids joint venture, now known as Hitachi Energy (UK & Ireland), in 2020. In January 2022, he was appointed Chair of the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL).

About the lecture
The UK was once a global leader in nuclear science, but how has that position changed over the years and what does it mean for meeting the challenges of the energy transition? As geopolitics propels nuclear power back to the top of the energy agenda, Ian argues that the UK has perhaps taken its nuclear power plants for granted and now finds they are needed as part of Net Zero energy system. In this lecture, he will explore current developments in nuclear energy, from small modular reactors to advanced nuclear technologies. He will look to the future of nuclear, discussing exciting R&D programmes exploring nuclear medicine and nuclear in space, and how nuclear science can benefit today’s society.

About Energy Futures Lab
Energy Futures Lab is one of seven Global Institutes at Imperial College London. The institute was established to address global energy challenges by identifying and leading new opportunities to serve industry, government and society at large through high quality research, evidence and advocacy for positive change. The institute aims to promote energy innovation and advance systemic solutions for a sustainable energy future by bringing together the science, engineering and policy expertise at Imperial and fostering collaboration with a wide variety of external partners.

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That was really not good, like at all. Watch this if you want to hear feel good stories about the good old times when Britain was leading in nuclear and "young people don't know VHS" kind of jokes on repeat.

This talk stays very vague about any relevant topic in the field. Tech, costs, financing, building times, waste. Every topic is touched *very* lightly at best.

And was there really a room full of British experts on nuclear and no one intervened when he forgot that the Hinkley Point C strike price is coupled to inflation? Because by now the price has already risen by approx 30%. Even relatively expensive offshore wind farms are half of that right now. And in contrary to nuclear power plants it seems reasonable to assume that there will be a learning curve. Plus, it doesn't take 15 years to build, plus it is not the government financing it.