Cumbria nuclear power plant 1
Announced United Kingdom
Gross capacity
470MW
Cumbria nuclear power plant 1 is a pressurised heavy water reactor unit at Cumbria nuclear power plant in United Kingdom rated at 470 MW gross. It is announced.
Specification
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | UK SMR |
| Size class | Large |
| Coolant | Heavy water |
| Moderator | Heavy water |
| Gross capacity | 470MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | not disclosed |
| Net capacity (design) | not disclosed |
| Thermal output | not disclosed |
| Typical enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | Cumbria nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 1 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Owner | Community Nuclear Power100% |
| Coordinates | 54.4296, -3.5109approximate |
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Natural uranium dioxide bundles
Enrichment
Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 no enrichment required
Who makes this assembly
- BWX Technologies CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- Cameco Corporation CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- China North Nuclear Fuel Company CANDU fuel bundles
- KEPCO Nuclear Fuel CANDU fuel bundles
- Nuclear Power Corporation of India PHWR fuel bundles, natural uranium
Upstream
This unit runs on natural uranium, so its fuel chain has no enrichment step at all: mine → mill → conversion → fabrication. That is the shortest fuel chain of any commercial reactor type, and it makes the operator independent of the four organisations that control enrichment worldwide.
Fabricator capability is recorded against reactor type and model line, not against named units —
utilities do not publish fuel contracts. See the fuel chain.
Other units at Cumbria nuclear power plant
| Unit | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|
| Cumbria nuclear power plant 2 | Announced | 470 |
Other UK SMR units
2 units worldwide share this model designation.
| Unit | Country | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumbria nuclear power plant 2 | United Kingdom | Announced | 470 |
Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release — CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06 · this unit last researched by GEM on 2026-06-30
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) — CC BY-SA 4.0 — linked, not quoted