£20bn UK nuclear plant plan scrapped after Hitachi pulls out

Plans to build two new UK nuclear power plants have been cancelled after Japanese investor Hitachi pulled out. Work on the £20 billion Horizon Project was originally suspended in January 2019.

Hitachi made this decision given that 20 months have passed since the suspension, and the investment environment has become increasingly severe due to the impact of the pandemic.

The Horizon Project was a proposal by Horizon Nuclear Power, which Hitachi acquired in November 2012, to develop nuclear power stations comprising of two units of UK ABWR, a reactor adapted to UK requirements based on ABWR (Advanced Boiling Water Reactor)

The first plant was to be located at Wylfa Newydd in Anglesey, North-West Wales, with the intention to develop Hitachi’s nuclear business in the UK and contribute to the energy policy of the UK government. The second proposed plant was to be in Oldbury, in south Gloucestershire.

Hitachi decided to suspend the Project in January 2019, from the viewpoint of Hitachi’s economic rationality as a private company because it was clear that further time was needed to decide on a financing structure for the Project and the conditions for building and operating the nuclear power stations.

As a result of this decision to end business operations on the Horizon Project, Hitachi will coordinate with the UK government and relevant organisations regarding its cooperation as the owner of ABWR licence and the handling of the planned construction sites and other matters.

This decision is not expected to have significant impact on Hitachi’s business results as Hitachi had posted an impairment loss and other expenses of 294.6 billion yen on consolidated financial results for fiscal 2018, the year ending March 31, 2019 due to the suspension of the Project.

Hitachi www.hitachi.eu