North Wales Minister Ken Skates has emphasised the Welsh Government’s commitment to the Trawsfynydd site in Gwynedd, and its future potential in developing small modular reactors and other associated technologies.
Mr Skates re-emphasised the commitment at the first meeting of the North Wales consultative committee which brings together the region’s AMs, MPs and local authority leaders to hear about the Welsh Government’s priorities for the region and contribute to the debate.
The potential of Trawsfynydd to exploit the small modular reactor (SMR) technology could bring significant benefits not only for the local area but the wider region, including the thermo-hydraulic testing facility at M-SParc and AMRC Cymru. It also has the potential to become a medical research reactor development centre, providing a secure and sustainable supply of medical radioisotopes for the UK.
Ken Skates said: “The Trawsfynydd site has huge potential in the fields of SMRs and medical isotopes which is fully recognised and supported by the Welsh Government. We are actively looking at a Welsh delivery vehicle that would enable development at Trawsfynydd and this will be a key part of levelling up the North Wales economy adding value to the focus of the North Wales Growth Deal.
“An appropriate delivery vehicle will help unlock the site’s potential in the best way for the local community, and for Wales as a whole, and will help us achieve the clearly defined outcomes emerging from the work undertaken by the Snowdonia Enterprise Zone over the past seven years.
“I am also pleased to learn today that a letter of intent was signed this week between Bangor University’s Nuclear Futures Institute and the University of New Brunswick’s School of Chemical Engineering in Canada, committing the two universities to working together to develop a series of collaborative research projects in support of the small modular and advance reactor agendas in both New Brunswick and Wales.”
The committee also discussed the North Wales Growth Deal and Transport infrastructure developments in the region.
