US and UK in deal to develop SMRs at Cottam coal-fired power station

US-based Holtec International, EDF UK and real estate firm Tritax Management have signed an agreement to develop Holtec’s SMR-300 reactors at the former Cottam coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire, UK.

The 900-acre Cottam site will be home to a 1GW data centre project, which is planned to come online by the end of the decade. The centre will initially be powered mainly by renewable generation until the SMR becomes operational in the 2030s.

Feasibility studies and early-stage investment discussions are currently taking place, with Holtec International and EDF UK engaging with relevant parties within UK and US governments.

The site offers existing grid connections and critical infrastructure that will significantly reduce development costs and timelines, according to EDF Energy.

Dr Rick Springman, president of Global Clean Energy Opportunities, Holtec said: “Together with EDF and Tritax, we will help the UK seize a leadership position in both advanced nuclear deployment and the global AI race. The SMR-300s at Cottam represent a potential $15 billion project, creating thousands of local jobs while drawing on the lessons from our Palisades project in Michigan. With this second-of-a-kind deployment, the UK is well positioned to join a global coalition of countries adopting the SMR-300 to drive long-term economic growth.”

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Holtec’s SMR-300 is an advanced, pressurised light water nuclear power plant, each unit designed to produce 300MW of energy. As an advanced Generation 3+ reactor, it uses gravity as the motive force to run its safety systems, earning the 'walk-away safe' designation.

The project in the UK will benefit from the lessons learned from Holtec's SMR-300 deployment at Palisades in Michigan - the firm's first SMR-300 plant in the US.

Holtec is advancing the design to ensure greater regulatory alignment between the UK and US.

The SMR project will encourage foreign direct investment into the UK, states EDF Energy in a release, including into nuclear fuel fabrication and services by Framatome and turbine manufacture by Arabelle Solutions. This is of particular significance as US president Donald Trump visits the UK to spur transatlantic cooperation in clean tech, AI infrastructure and digital innovation.

To this end, the US and UK signed the Tech Prosperity Deal focused on developing the fastest growing technologies like AI, quantum, and nuclear. This comes as America’s top technology and AI firms – like Microsoft, NVIDIA, Google, OpenAI and CoreWeave – commit a combined £31 billion ($42 billion) to boost the UK’s AI infrastructure and cutting-edge tech, from data centres to computer chips

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Energy secretary, Ed Miliband, added: “Small modular reactors will play a key role in our future clean energy mix, with Holtec and EDF’s proposed development at the old coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire demonstrating the transition to clean power in action, and how this can power industries of the future.

“By working with the US, we will reap the benefits of this golden age of nuclear, powering British homes with clean, homegrown energy, delivering well-paid skilled jobs and getting energy bills down for good.”

This post was revised to include new details and clarify previous content.