The French eye a fresh chunk of UK nuclear

LONDON — A firm owned by French nuclear giant EDF is locked in talks with the U.K. government as it tries to buy a prime site for nuclear power development. 

Four industry figures familiar with nuclear planning in Whitehall, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, said EDF-owned company Framatome is bidding to purchase land at Oldbury in Gloucestershire, southwest England, a site earmarked by the British government for nuclear development. 

Senior U.K. officials have been talking up the potential for private investment on the site for months — but some insiders warn the French proposal could restrict other developments at Oldbury just as ministers are desperate to get low-carbon nuclear power running as quickly as possible. 

EDF, which is owned by the French state, operates the U.K.'s entire nuclear fleet. It has an 80% stake in Framatome.

Framatome said in 2023 it wanted to set up a facility in the U.K. for making the fuel used by nuclear reactors, but did not specify a location. 

“We have been supporting the U.K. nuclear power market for over 25 years and it is a focal point of business for Framatome,” said Bernard Fontana, the company's boss at the time, adding that it was “in engagement” with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. 

Fontana was named chief executive of EDF in 2025, reflecting the close ties between the companies. 

Framatome is holding talks with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) over the purchase of land owned by the regulatory body at the site, according to the four industry figures.  

The U.K. has its own nuclear fuels sector and uranium enrichment industries, but relies on France to supply some nuclear fuels and equipment used in reactor supply chains. Framatome signed a deal in 2025 with nuclear station Sizewell C, which is under development, on the understanding that fuel made in factories in France would come from a U.K. factory once it was up and running.

Then-Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said earlier this year that the government could offload Oldbury, a state-owned site, to private investors. “I would be very encouraging and positive about [opportunities at] Oldbury,” he told MPs.  

Two of the industry figures cited above said Great British Energy Nuclear (GBE-N), the arm's-length body responsible for delivering U.K. small modular reactor (SMR) plans, had raised concerns over the sale of the land, worried it would hamper potential new nuclear generation at Oldbury.  

Framatome has been “trying for ages but it’s land which may be needed for an SMR there,” one of the figures said. 

One of the two figures said the decision over a potential sale NDA land now rested with Nuclear Minister Michael Shanks. 

Oldbury was home to one of the U.K.’s early nuclear power stations, which closed in 2012 for decommissioning — a process expected to last until the 2080s. 

The site was officially earmarked for future development in 2011 under the coalition government. But a chunk of its land was sold by the NDA to Horizon Nuclear Power in 2012, whose plans to set up a new nuclear plant on the site collapsed in 2020.  

The Conservative government then bought the approximately 450 acre carve-out in 2024 for future nuclear development and handed this to GBE-N to oversee and court development partners. 

The NDA owns the remaining 116 acres, including the original power station, according to its own submissions to government.  

The documents show the NDA has also "de-designated" around 80 acres of this site, an industry term for removing the land from clean-up and decommissioning requirements. 

The government and GBE-N refused to comment on the timescale for any potential sale or whether it would imperil building SMRs on the same site.   

DESNZ said it would not comment on “speculation.” A spokesperson added: “We need to build new nuclear to move the country off volatile fossil fuels and onto clean, homegrown energy we control. Oldbury is an important site for future nuclear development and Great British Energy-Nuclear continues to maintain and enhance its readiness for future opportunities.” 

GBE-N referred POLITICO to DESNZ’s comment. Framatome and the NDA both declined to comment.