Reliable baseload nuclear power from Sizewell C will help build a resilient energy system and lower costs for households and businesses. As a generator of low-carbon electricity and heat, Sizewell C can help kickstart other net zero technologies such as hydrogen production and direct air capture.
Sizewell C is part of a consortium which has been awarded government funding to build a demonstrator direct air capture (DAC) unit at the port of Lowestoft.
Our demo DAC unit will be capable of extracting 100 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.
In the long run, DAC technology linked to Sizewell C could allow us to become carbon negative.
We plan to reduce our carbon emissions by using clean transport and machinery fuelled with hydrogen during Sizewell C’s construction.
Sizewell C will generate huge amounts of low-carbon electricity which can be used to produce low-carbon hydrogen
Sizewell C will also produce a lot of clean heat from our nuclear reactors, some of which can be used for powering hydrogen production, making the process more efficient.
Add hydrogen digger video here when it’s ready.
Environmental specialists, Ricardo Energy & Environment, conducted an independent lifecycle carbon assessment into the emissions Sizewell C could generate once operational.
Nuclear, offshore wind and solar produce far fewer lower levels of emissions than carbon-based forms of electricity generation and together, all three will help the UK reach its net zero targets.
The carbon avoided by generating electricity from Sizewell C rather than from a gas-fuelled power station means that we will offset our carbon emissions from construction within a few months of operation.
Source: Sizewell C emissions based on 2021 LCA estimate. Gas, offshore wind and solar emissions based on 2014 IPCC median estimates.
