Hitachi is to buy Horizon Nuclear Power, which intends to build reactors² on existing sites at Wylfa, Anglesey, and Oldbury, in Gloucestershire.

 

Hitachi is buying Horizon from Germany's E.On and RWE, which are withdrawing from the UK nuclear market.

 

Prime Minister David Cameron said it was a major step for the UK.

 

"This is a decades-long, multi-billion pound vote of confidence in the UK, that will contribute vital new infrastructure³ to power our economy.

 

"It will support up to 12,000 jobs during construction and thousands more permanent highly skilled roles once the new power plants are operational, as well as stimulating⁴ exciting new industrial investments in the UK's nuclear supply chain. I warmly welcome Hitachi as a major new player in the UK energy sector," he said. 

 

UK engineering companies Babcock International and Rolls-Royce have signed preliminary contracts to join the Hitachi deal, which the Japanese company said should be completed by the end of November.

 

Hitachi intends to build 6 gigawatts of nuclear capacity, with the first plant becoming operational in the first half of the next decade.

 

Up to 6,000 jobs are expected to be created during construction at each site, thousands more in the supply chain, and a further 1,000 permanent jobs at both locations once operational.

 

The Horizon venture, which currently employs around 90 people, was set up in 2009 as part of the drive to meet the UK's carbon reduction goals and secure energy demand as old power plants are decommissioned.

 

 

But RWE and E.On put the business up for sale in March after Germany's move to abandon nuclear power in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster.

 

A consortium made up of EDF and British Gas-owner Centrica has maintained its interest but the two companies have still to decide whether to build two reactors at Hinckley Point, Somerset.

 

Hitachi facilities will use its advanced boiling water technology, which is already in used in four reactors in Japan.

 

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: "Hitachi bring with them decades of expertise⁶, and are responsible for building some of the most advanced nuclear reactors on time and on budget, so I welcome their commitment to helping⁷ build a low- carbon, secure-energy future for the UK."

 

Unions also welcomed Hitachi's move, with Mike Clancy, general secretary designate of Prospect⁸, saying: "The Horizon venture is an important milestone in securing future low-carbon energy generation capacity within the UK and its importance to local and national economies cannot be overstated.

 

"While Hitachi's advanced boiling water reactor¹ design has yet to undergo the UK's generic⁹ design assessment¹⁰ approval process, it is a proven technology and therefore any construction in the UK will benefit from lessons learned from its construction in Japan."

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