High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) Deconversion Competition

Applicant Details 

Applicants must provide the information set out below on the structure and governance of the Applicant. The Applicant should engage with officials if any confusion arises on the scope of this section. 

Applicants must provide the following information: 

1. full name of the organisation; 

2. UK company registration number (of the consortium lead); 

3. registered address; 

4. company website; 

5. company NACE code (NACE refers to the European Classification of Economic Activities); 

6. total number of FTE employed by the Applicant (please see below for the definition of FTE); 

7. the latest statutory accounts covering 3 years of results (full set with notes) for the Applicant and ultimate parent; and, 

8. if the Applicant’s most recent statutory accounts are more than 6 months old, Applicants should provide draft statutory accounts or management accounts. This is not necessary for the ultimate parent. 

The Applicant must state how many people are employed in the entire Group. This information is required from all consortium partners as well. FTE refers to the number of Full Time Equivalent employees (FTE). Please note an FTE job is one of 30 or more hours per week. If the role requires any additional hours this still only counts as 1 FTE. Two part time jobs of 15 hours or more count as equivalent to one full time job. Any part time jobs of 15 hours up to 30 hours should be stated as 0.5 of an FTE. 

Applicants must provide the project director’s contact details, including their name, telephone number and email address. Applicants must also provide the same details for a lead contact as well as an alternative contact in the event that the lead contact is unavailable. 

Applicants must provide information on whether the Applicant or members of the consortium has received other public sector funding in the last three years including the following: 

1. details on the name of fund or scheme that provided the funding; 

2. the name of the body or The Department that awarded the funding; 

3. how much funding was awarded; 

4. when the award was made; and 

5. any existing conditions from this award that you are still committed to. 

Applicants are also required to answer questions relating to the Windsor Framework in this section. 

UK Registered 

The successful Applicant (i.e., a sole Applicant or lead member of a consortium) which enters into a Grant Funding Agreement must be a company registered in the UK under the Companies Act 2006 (CA06), unless the organisation is a UK public body. Applicants must confirm that they are already registered in the UK under the CA06, or able to make the necessary arrangements to do so by 31st December 2024 if their application is successful. 

Offences 

Applicants must confirm that neither the Applicant (or none of the consortium partners if a consortium), nor any of its/their directors or officers, have been convicted of any of the offences listed under regulation 57(1) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This also applies to any parent companies (as defined by section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006) of the Applicant and any consortium member and to directors and officers of those parent companies. 

Sanctions 

Applicants must confirm that neither the Applicant (or each of the consortium partners if a consortium), nor any of its/their directors or officers, are subject to United Kingdom, United Nations or European Union sanctions. This also applies to any parent companies (as defined by section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006) of the Applicant and any consortium member and to directors and officers of those parent companies. 

Solvency 

Applicants must confirm that the Applicant (or each of the consortium partners if a consortium) is not in the situation described in Article 57(8)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (it is not the subject of insolvency or winding-up proceedings etc., or in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure under the laws and regulations of any state). This also applies to any parent companies (as defined by section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006) of the Applicant and any consortium member and to directors and officers of those parent companies. 

Applicants must notify The Department in writing of any Occasions of Tax Non-Compliance and any litigation in which it is involved that is in connection with any Occasion of Tax Non-Compliance. 

Applicants should note that financial due diligence will be carried out both on the Applicant and the ultimate parent company. A Parental Guarantee from your ultimate parent company or a guarantee from a bank with an investment grade credit rating will need to be provided by the successful Applicant. Failure to provide a satisfactory guarantee will result in the Grant Funding Agreement not being issued. 

Non-Proliferation 

Applicants must confirm that the Applicant (or each of the consortium partners if a consortium), and all entities in the upward group structure are associated with a country that has both signed and ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT) and one of: 

1. a Voluntary Offer Agreement (VOA); 

2. a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA); 

3. a modified Small Quantities Protocol (mSQP); and 

4. an Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The AP should be universal and supplementary to whichever of the three primary safeguards agreements the country has with the IAEA. 

Applicants must also confirm that the Applicant (or each of the consortium partners if a consortium), and all entities in the upward group structure are not associated with a country which is subject to United Nations, European Union, or United Kingdom sanctions due to infringements of the NPT, their CSA, or an associated Additional Protocol. In this context ‘associated with’ is defined as incorporated in, operating in, or owned (directly, indirectly or partially) by nationals of the country where sanctions apply. 

Project End Date 

The project deliverables must be submitted to The Department, by March 2030. To note the funding period for this grant will be FY25-26 to FY29-30. 

Alternative Public Funding 

Applicants must indicate if they, their associated entities, or their consortium partners are participating in any similar activities that are funded elsewhere by the government, and/or another public authority in the UK, and/or another government. 

In particular, proposals must state whether any deconversion project deliverables are already being funded by or are in the process of applying for funding from, other DESNZ programmes, including but not limited to the Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) Research, Development and Demonstration Programme, the Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme (AFCP), the Future Nuclear Enabling Fund (FNEF) and Nuclear Fuel Fund (NFF). If an Applicant has received funding from another DESNZ programme to cover proposed deconversion project deliverables, the application will be removed from the competition. 

Finance 

Applications must specify the total cost of the project, and the amount of funding being sought. Co-funding of at least 30% will be expected from the Applicant. Please note that the grant award will be paid in arrears.  

The proposed project must be within the specified cost limits for funding. The Department will award up to a maximum of £70 million to the successful Applicant. The Department reserves the right to vary the amount of funding awarded.  

Eligible Project Costs 

Eligibility requirements for costs are detailed in the table below. The Department will expect to see detailed underlying assumptions for all costs and explanations of how and why they are eligible. The Department reserves the right to ask for costs it deems ineligible to be removed from project costs. 

Fair market value 

Costs must be at ‘fair market value’. Profit must not be included (including profit within labour costs). 

Directly attributable 

Costs must be directly attributable to the project. 

R&D expenditure 

Costs must be capable of meeting R&D capital requirements set out in The Department Consolidated Budgeting Guidance 

Grant period 

Costs must be both incurred and defrayed within the grant period FY25-26 to FY29-30. 

International accounting standards 

Costs must be as detailed by UK FRS 1024 and/or international accounting and financial reporting standards. 

Additionality 

Applications must provide strong evidence that the project would not be taken forward, would otherwise take place outside the UK or would be taken forwards at a much slower rate, without The Department funding. Applications must also demonstrate that the exact amount of funding requested is the minimum necessary to enable the project to proceed. This will be assessed further during the due diligence process.  

Terms and Conditions 

Applicants must agree to standard grant terms and conditions. An example of these has been provided in Annex A.  

Self-certification 

If Applicants have self-certified that the project meets the eligibility criteria, but cross-checks with other parts of the application leads The Department’s assessors to believe that a project is not eligible, it may be excluded from further evaluation. 

Public Sector Equalities Duty 

To fulfil requirements of the Equality Act (2010), The Department is required to have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).  

Applicants must provide information on the company’s proposed mechanisms for monitoring protected characteristics, and how the project will support the three aims of the Public Sector Equalities Duty, which includes having due regard to the need to: 

1.  Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010. 

2. Advance quality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. 

3. Foster good relations between people who have a share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. 

An anonymised breakdown of the Applicant’s, and consortium partners’ (if applicable) workforce for each protected characteristic outlined under the Equality Act is required. Supporting information, such as the Applicant’s company Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) commitments and targets, should also be included.

Grant funding of up to £70 million is available to support the development of a commercial HALEU deconversion facility in the UK. Industry co-funding will be required at a minimum rate of 70:30 (government: industry). The project will support the growth of the front-end HALEU supply chain used by the UK nuclear industry whilst rebuilding scarce skills. Specifically, this grant is intended to support:  

• The design and build of a commercial-scale oxide HALEU deconversion facility; and  

• The design of a commercial-scale metal HALEU deconversion facility.   

The successful Applicant will be expected to collaborate with HALEU delivery partners and across the wider HALEU supply chain, this expectation is captured in the example grant terms and conditions. This may include collaboration with the Nuclear National Laboratory (NNL) which is being considered for funding under the HALEU Programme. If successful the NNL will be utilising HALEU grant funding to build UK skills and capability in oxide and metal deconversion via a deconversion test rig and associated R&D programme, which could support the successful Applicant. If the NNL project goes ahead, we would anticipate that the successful Applicant would work with NNL to derisk and optimise their plant design and facility operations during the course of the project.  

We welcome and encourage you to consider options that will best support delivery of this type of collaboration, such as consortia, partnering or sub-contracting where appropriate.

Milestone 

Date 

Application and clarification window opens 

Monday 1st July 2024 12pm BST 

Stakeholder workshop for filling out economic assessment 

July – date to be confirmed  

Expression of Interest deadline 

Friday 19th July 2024 5pm BST 

Clarification Question window closes 

Friday 19th July 2024 5pm BST 

Responses to Clarification Questions published 

Friday 26th July 2024 

Application window closes 

Monday 30th September 2024 12pm BST

Applicants must ensure they have read the guidance document in its entirety before applying. If Applicants have any general questions about the application process or about the application documentation, please email HALEU@energysecurity.gov.uk.   

The application and assessment process consists of the following stages: 

• In Stage 1 the application window will be open from Monday 1st July until 9th September at 12pm BST. Applicants can submit questions of clarification until July 19th. The Department will publish these questions and answers on gov.uk before the application window closes. 

• Applicants will need to email HALEU@energysecurity.gov.uk with an expression of interest to gain access to the application portal. Expression of interest should be sent by 19th July 5pm BST. The application portal is an online portal where you will need submit your final application by 9th September 12pm BST. 

• In Stage 2, applications will be assessed against the eligibility criteria. This assessment will include financial due diligence. 

• In Stage 3, applications deemed to be eligible will be evaluated against the detailed technical and deliverability, strategic, economic and social value criteria. 

• In Stage 4, The Department will conduct further in depth financial and organisational due diligence checks on the Applicant. Upon successful completion, a grant offer letter will be sent to the successful Applicant.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-assay-low-enriched-uranium-haleu-deconversion-competition