UK cement body welcomes funding for Sizewell C nuclear plant

The Mineral Products Association, the trade body for concrete, cement, aggregates and other related industries, has welcomed the UK government's GBP14-billion ($19-billion) funding announcement to set up the Sizewell C nuclear power plant on the Suffolk coast, which will provide a boost to domestically sourced mineral products, according to a statement posted on their LinkedIn.

According to MPA's estimates, Sizewell C will need around 5 million mt of concrete, including 1.3 million mt of cement and 2.5 million mt of aggregate, making this one of the biggest projects in the UK from a materials perspective.

"Business investment relies on confidence which has been lacking recently with weak housing markets and patchy infrastructure delivery," said Mark Russell, MPA Executive Director for Environment and Mineral Planning. "In a long-term industry such as ours that supplies the essential aggregates and cement to make the huge volumes of concrete needed to build new nuclear plants, this is a welcome signal of commitment."

The nuclear power station will be the first such British-owned facility in over three decades.

"As a key part of the government's mission on clean energy, MPA members look forward to supplying the materials needed and welcome this signal of commitment," said Diana Casey, MPA Executive Director for Energy and Climate Change.

Over 70% of Sizewell C's construction value is expected to go to UK companies, providing a massive boost for the British economy and a major move to reshore the country's energy supply chains, Sizewell C said in a statement.

"But it's not just the demand for materials that we welcome; our sector will need more clean electricity as we decarbonize everything from diggers and trucks to carbon capture technology on cement plants," Casey added.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed CEMDEX Turkey at $54/mt FOB on June 5.