NEWS & INSIGHTS | Opinion
Developments and opportunities in nuclear energy and UK climate technology
Luca Corradi
Luca works to bring “the outside in”, connecting innovators and academics across sectors and disciplines, to explore the latest technologies that could be adopted to address oil and gas industry challenges. Leading The Net Zero Technology Centre’s horizon scanning activity, he identifies emerging technology trends, cutting through the hype to identify potential areas of impact and application. With a background in business and organisational change leadership, Luca has developed a strong network and is passionate about harnessing this to deliver the next generation of the net zero energy industry.
Outside work Luca loves reading, music and travel. He is married with two young daughters and a dog. He enjoys the rare motorbike ride in Scotland and even rarer ski trip on the Alps.
Nuclear Energy; Hyper-scaling UK climate technology; Methane to graphene technology
Chief technology officer Luca Corradi and his team monitor the global net zero landscape closely, following the trends, policies, investments and technology innovations that get the world closer to its shared climate goals. Learn more about our horizon scanning service. This week, Luca and his team share IEA’s a recent report about the rising interest in nuclear energy, look at UK’s start-up technology potential, and an update on Levidian’s methane to graphene technology.
Rapid electricity demand growth and the rise of nuclear power
The IEA predicts electricity demand will grow six times quicker than overall energy demand over the next decade. Nuclear currently ranks as the second-largest low-emissions source of electricity globally, generating just under 10% of total production. Nuclear provides a low-emissions, dispatchable source of electricity and heat, which can be deployed at scale and operate around the clock. Traditionally, nuclear has been hard to finance and there are challenges around safety and radioactive waste management.
Eight of the ten countries with the highest nuclear share of total generation worldwide are advanced economies, including the top two: France, with 65%, and the Slovak Republic, with over 60%
Source: IEA The Path to a New Era for Nuclear Energy report
Interest in nuclear energy is at its highest level since the oil crises in the 1970s, driven by energy security concerns, the need for dispatchable low-emissions power capacity and advances in nuclear technology. There is now supportive policy in place in over 40 countries and there are 63 nuclear reactors currently under construction, representing over 70 GW of capacity. Small modular reactors (SMRs) are more financially attractive, with shorter pre-project and construction costs shortening payback time by up to 10 years compared to the typical 20-30 year payback period. Companies plan to launch the first commercial SMR projects around 2030. Technology firms are increasingly turning to nuclear energy, and specifically SMRs to power data centres, with 25 GW of SMR capacity announced worldwide.
Hyper-scaling UK climate technology
The UK’s start-up technology system is the largest in Europe by value, employing over three million people and surpassing $1 trillion in valuation in 2024. A lot of start-up technology investment in the UK goes to the climate sector. The UK climate technology sector has clusters of emerging leaders in segments such as nuclear fusion, green hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage, and attracted £2.6 billion in funding in 2023. Whilst the UK has an abundance of promising start-ups, many have struggled to scale to industry leaders.
Based on conversations with 100 climate technology entrepreneurs, McKinsey identifies challenges and solutions for climate tech companies in the UK to scale technologies.
Source: www.mckinsey.com
While the US has three times the number of climate technology start-ups as the UK, it boasts nine times as many unicorns. Following conversations with nearly 100 climate technology entrepreneurs, investors, and companies, McKinsey identified key barriers to leadership. These barriers include risk avoidance, difficulty raising large amounts of capital, and gaps in climate technology ecosystems, such as planning, infrastructure, supply chains, and skills. Solutions include leading with game-changing ambition, signing up for captive demand early, and driving down costs. They also focus on attracting and retaining top global talent, and developing robust supply chain and go-to-market strategies.
Methane to graphene
ADNOC Gas, in partnership with Baker Hughes and UK-based Levidian, deployed Levidian’s LOOP technology at an operational gas processing site. The technology can convert methane gas into 1 tpa of hydrogen and 1 tpa of graphene, with potential to reach 15 tpa of graphene in the future. LOOP works with any methane source and is designed as a self-contained modular system that quickly retrofits existing infrastructure. Potential sources of gas include landfill, biogas, flare gas or natural gas. If using waste gas as a source, the process is carbon negative.
Graphene has the potential to transform industries, including improving the performance of electric vehicle batteries and solar panels. Although scientists discovered graphene in 2004, scalability and quality issues have limited its use. According to Levidian, their graphene is ‘ultra-high quality’ and can be produced at scale.
Technology that converts methane into graphene and hydrogen, has been deployed at an operational gas site for the first time.
Image source: www.levidian.com
Our horizon scanning service helps you keep up to date with net zero technology advancements, investments and policies. Learn more about horizon scanning.
Subscribe for the latest updates
