Projects / prj-sellafield-prism
GE Hitachi PRISM plutonium-reuse proposal at Sellafield (not taken forward)
In 2011-2012 GE Hitachi proposed a two-module PRISM sodium fast reactor plant at Sellafield to reuse the UK civil plutonium stockpile; reporting gave two 311 MWe units, GEH's release about 600 MW. The proposal was a vendor offer, never a licensed project. On 24 January 2025 the UK Government chose to immobilise the stockpile for disposal instead, so the reuse route this proposal served was not taken forward. Historical record; no construction occurred.
- Stage
- Cancelled
- Design
- PRISM (SMR)
- Technology
- Sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) · sodium
- Operator(s)
- —
- Vendor(s)
- GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy
- Location
- Sellafield (proposed PRISM location) · United Kingdom · precision: approximate
Coordinates of the named Sellafield (Hitachi) proposal location from the NuclearChain reactors export (CC BY 4.0), whose unit points derive from GEM's Global Nuclear Power Tracker. Site-area point for a proposal that was never built; not a surveyed plot. - Coordinates
- 54.4224, -3.4868
- Electrical capacity
- — · scope: plant
- Thermal capacity
- —
- Modules planned
- 2
- Inclusion basis
- smr_by_vendor_claim_with_capacity_check
- Confidence
- medium
- Last verified
- 2026-10-02 (publication/verification date)
Milestones & dated events
- No dated milestones recorded yet.
Regulatory actions
- None recorded in this release.
Sources
- WNN: Prism proposed for UK plutonium disposal (reputable_press, accessed 2026-10-02)
- GE Hitachi and National Nuclear Laboratory MOU on the UK plutonium stockpile (company_primary, accessed 2026-10-02)
- NDA group welcomes Government decision on plutonium disposition (government_primary, accessed 2026-10-02)
- WNN: UK opts for disposal of plutonium inventory (reputable_press, accessed 2026-10-02)