TRW & Co · Energy, Infrastructure & Transport
Nuclear Lawyers UK: Civil Nuclear Law from London
TRW & Co acts as nuclear lawyers UK suppliers, investors and developers can rely on for licensing, financing, supply-chain contracts, liability and disputes. With Sizewell C under way, an SMR programme at Wylfa and a major overhaul of nuclear regulation announced in 2026, the legal ground is moving quickly.
Key pointThe Nuclear Installations Act 1965 channels third-party nuclear liability to the licensed operator, but suppliers are only as protected as their contract makes them. Check that your nuclear indemnity mirrors the statute and reaches your subcontractors before you price a bid.
At a glance
Site licence required
Section 1 of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 bars operating a nuclear reactor on any site without a nuclear site licence granted by ONR.
Licence is non-transferable
Only a body corporate can hold a nuclear site licence, it cannot be transferred, and a subsidiary licensee must be the site's controlling mind.
EN-7 now designated
The National Policy Statement for nuclear energy generation was designated on 18 December 2025, replacing EN-6 for new nuclear planning decisions.
Operator liability €700 million
Since 1 January 2022 a standard nuclear operator's liability is €700 million per incident, with a 30-year limit for personal injury claims.
Regulatory reform under way
The March 2026 government response accepted 47 Taskforce recommendations, including merging civil and defence nuclear regulators and creating a Nuclear Commission.
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What nuclear lawyers UK clients instruct actually do
The work nuclear lawyers UK developers, investors, suppliers and public bodies instruct covers every stage of a civil nuclear asset: site licensing and regulatory permissions, planning consent, financing and revenue models, construction and supply-chain contracts, third-party liability and insurance, security and safeguards, export controls, and decommissioning and waste. Each stage sits under its own statute and regulator, and the stages overlap for many years.
The sector is busier than at any point in a generation. Sizewell C reached a final investment decision in July 2025, Great British Energy – Nuclear has contracted Rolls-Royce SMR for a three-unit small modular reactor project at Wylfa on Anglesey, and the government has committed to a wholesale reform of nuclear regulation following the 2025 Nuclear Regulatory Review.
TRW & Co advises suppliers entering the UK nuclear supply chain, investors and lenders, technology developers, and international businesses — including those connected with Bangladesh’s own nuclear programme — on English-law contracts and the UK regulatory regime. This page sits within our wider energy practice.
The legal and regulatory framework
Civil nuclear regulation is largely reserved to the UK Parliament, so the core licensing regime applies across Great Britain. Planning and environmental permitting differ between England, Wales and Scotland, and the Scottish Government’s policy has long opposed new nuclear power stations in Scotland under current technology. Northern Ireland has no civil nuclear generation.
Primary legislation
- The Nuclear Installations Act 1965 prohibits using a site to install or operate a nuclear reactor or other prescribed installation unless a nuclear site licence has been granted and is in force (section 1). It also channels third-party liability for nuclear incidents to the licensed operator. Fusion facilities are expressly excluded from the definition of nuclear reactor.
- The Energy Act 2013 established the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) as an independent statutory corporation covering nuclear safety, security, safeguards and the transport of radioactive material.
- The Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act 2022 created the regulated asset base (RAB) model for nuclear, under which a licensed company can recover an allowed revenue from electricity suppliers during construction as well as operation.
- The Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018 gave the UK its own domestic safeguards regime, administered by ONR, after the UK left Euratom.
- The Energy Act 2004 created the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), and the Energy Act 2008 requires operators of new nuclear power stations to have an approved funded decommissioning programme before construction begins.
Regulators and public bodies
| Body | Role | When you deal with it |
|---|---|---|
| Office for Nuclear Regulation | Nuclear site licensing, safety, security, safeguards and radioactive transport | Generic Design Assessment, site licence applications, licence conditions and hold points |
| Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA | Radioactive substances and other environmental permits | Discharge and disposal permits; joint role in Generic Design Assessment (England and Wales) |
| Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | Policy, RAB and revenue support designations, funded decommissioning programme approval, regulatory justification | Revenue model negotiations, decommissioning financing, justification decisions |
| Planning Inspectorate and Secretary of State | Development consent under the Planning Act 2008 | Nationally significant nuclear generating stations |
| Great British Energy – Nuclear | Government-owned delivery body for new nuclear, including the SMR programme | Site access, partnering and supply-chain contracting |
| Nuclear Decommissioning Authority | Owner of legacy sites and liabilities, including Sellafield | Decommissioning, waste and site services contracts |
Licensing, Generic Design Assessment and planning
The nuclear site licence
A nuclear site licence can only be granted to a body corporate, and it cannot be transferred to another company. A subsidiary can hold a licence only if it is the “controlling mind” of the site with genuine independent authority. That rule shapes joint-venture structures from day one: the licensee must have the people, governance and resources to act as an intelligent customer for everything done on its site.
ONR’s current licensing guidance describes a standard set of 36 licence conditions. Most are goal-setting, so the licensee writes its own compliance arrangements. Through those conditions ONR sets hold points — for example before first nuclear-safety-significant concrete, before fuel is brought on site and before first criticality — that need its consent before work proceeds. Programme contracts should map those hold points explicitly.
Generic Design Assessment
Generic Design Assessment (GDA) is an optional, staged review of a reactor design by ONR and the environment agencies before any site is chosen. A design that has received a Design Acceptance Confirmation gives a later site licence applicant a head start, provided it can show its installation is substantially the same and justify any differences. For SMR and advanced modular reactor vendors, GDA progress is often the gating item for investors.
Planning consent and EN-7
Nuclear generating stations above the statutory threshold are nationally significant infrastructure projects requiring development consent under the Planning Act 2008. On 18 December 2025 the government designated the National Policy Statement for nuclear energy generation (EN-7). It replaces EN-6, which only covered projects deployable by the end of 2025, and is accompanied by a supplementary information document that will be updated regularly.
The Planning and Infrastructure Act reforms to the consenting process, judicial review and environmental delivery also bear on nuclear schedules. Our planning team works alongside the nuclear specialists on consent strategy.
The 2026 regulatory reform programme
On 13 March 2026 the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published Building our nuclear nation, its response to the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce led by John Fingleton. The government accepted the Taskforce’s 47 recommendations in principle and committed to implement them by the end of 2027, subject to legislation.
- Merger of regulators. ONR and the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator are to be brought into a single nuclear regulatory framework, with initial changes from autumn 2026 and full merger targeted by the end of 2028.
- A Nuclear Commission. A collective decision-making body to resolve conflicts between regulators, needing primary legislation and targeted to be functioning by summer 2028, with an interim lead-regulator model in the meantime.
- Proportionality. A shared action plan, work on tolerability of risk and a consultation on defining “grossly disproportionate” in law.
- Environment and planning. Improved Habitats Regulations guidance, nuclear Environmental Delivery Plans and a promised update to EN-7.
Regulatory reform does not remove a single licence condition today. Contracts signed in 2026 must work under the current regime and flex as the new one arrives.
For commercial parties the practical point is that many of these reforms are not yet law. Nuclear lawyers UK-wide are therefore drafting change-in-law, regulatory-change and schedule-relief clauses with particular care, so that a project can benefit from a faster process without the contract price or risk allocation becoming uncertain.
Financing, revenue models and investment
Large nuclear projects are financed differently from almost any other asset because construction risk is long and politically visible. Three revenue routes now exist in the UK, and investors need to understand which risks each leaves with them.
| Model | How it works | Key risk for investors |
|---|---|---|
| Contract for Difference | Strike price paid only once the plant generates, used for Hinkley Point C | Construction overruns sit with the developer and its shareholders |
| Regulated asset base (RAB) | Allowed revenue collected from suppliers during construction under the 2022 Act, used for Sizewell C | Regulatory determinations, cost-sharing mechanisms and government support package terms |
| Public delivery and partnering | Great British Energy – Nuclear contracts with vendors, as with the Wylfa SMR programme | Public procurement rules, subsidy control and the path to final investment decision |
Equity and debt investment in civil nuclear businesses is also a mandatory-notification sector under the National Security and Investment Act 2021, so acquisitions of qualifying shares or voting rights cannot complete until cleared. The nuclear lawyers UK and overseas investors bring in at term-sheet stage should map that clearance into the timetable. See our foreign investment and NSIA page and, on financing structures, our project finance team. Public funding also engages the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
Supply-chain and construction contracts
Most of our nuclear work in practice is for suppliers: engineering firms, manufacturers, specialist contractors and service providers bidding into new build, operating fleet and decommissioning programmes. Nuclear contracts look like ordinary construction or supply contracts, but several clauses behave differently. The first questions the nuclear lawyers UK suppliers instruct will ask concern the following.
- Nuclear liability channelling. Because the 1965 Act channels third-party nuclear liability to the licensee, suppliers usually receive contractual protection for nuclear damage. Check the definitions match the statute and that the protection covers your subcontractors and transport.
- Quality and nuclear safety culture. Flow-down of the licensee’s arrangements, intelligent-customer rights, audit and suspect-item procedures.
- Security vetting. Personnel clearance and the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003 affect who can work on site and handle sensitive information.
- Regulatory hold points. Delay caused by an ONR or environment agency decision needs a clear treatment for time and money.
- Procurement law. Contracts let by public bodies such as the NDA group or Great British Energy – Nuclear fall under the Procurement Act 2023 regime; see our public procurement page.
Where NEC or bespoke forms are used, our construction lawyers review risk allocation, and disputes go to adjudication, expert determination or arbitration as the contract provides.
Third-party liability, insurance and decommissioning
The UK implements the Paris and Brussels Conventions on nuclear third-party liability as amended by the 2004 Protocols. Following the Nuclear Installations (Liability for Damage) Order 2016, in force from 1 January 2022, operator liability for a standard installation rose to €700 million per incident, the categories of compensable damage widened to include environmental reinstatement and economic loss, and the limitation period for personal injury claims became 30 years.
Operators must make financial provision for that liability through insurance or other approved security. Investors should test how the operator’s cover interacts with project insurance, contractors’ all-risks policies and conventional third-party cover, which typically excludes nuclear risks.
New-build operators must also have a funded decommissioning programme approved before construction, with oversight from the Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board. On legacy sites, the NDA and its subsidiaries let long-term decommissioning and waste contracts, where incentive regimes and change mechanisms deserve close attention. Our insurance team advises on coverage questions.
How a nuclear project moves from concept to operation
- Technology and site selection. Choose a design with a credible path through Generic Design Assessment and a site that fits EN-7. Early land rights and grid connection work run in parallel.
- Corporate and investment structure. Form the prospective licensee with the governance and resources ONR expects, and clear any National Security and Investment Act notifications for incoming investors.
- Generic Design Assessment. The vendor takes the design through ONR and environment agency assessment; developers and investors track the issues register.
- Consents. Apply for development consent, environmental permits and the nuclear site licence, each with its own consultation and timetable.
- Revenue model and financing. Negotiate the CfD, RAB or public funding arrangements, the funded decommissioning programme and the finance documents.
- Contracting and final investment decision. Let the engineering, procurement and construction packages with risk allocation that matches the financing.
- Construction and commissioning. Manage regulatory hold points, change, claims and supply-chain performance through to fuel load and operation.
Documents and evidence to assemble
Whether you are a supplier bidding into a programme or an investor reviewing one, the same core documents drive the analysis. These are the documents that nuclear lawyers UK-wide ask to see first.
- The nuclear site licence, licence conditions and the licensee’s compliance arrangements.
- Generic Design Assessment reports, Design Acceptance Confirmation and any outstanding assessment findings.
- The development consent order, environmental permits and any conditions affecting construction.
- Revenue support documents (CfD or RAB licence), the government support package and the funded decommissioning programme.
- EPC and supply contracts, including nuclear liability, indemnity and insurance provisions and subcontract flow-downs.
- Security, vetting and export control classifications for technology and equipment.
Risks and common mistakes
The mistakes below are the ones nuclear lawyers UK-wide see most often in bids, investments and project contracts. Each is avoidable with early review.
Treating the nuclear indemnity as boilerplate
Suppliers often accept a nuclear liability clause without checking that it mirrors the statutory definitions of nuclear matter, nuclear installation and occurrence. If the contractual protection is narrower than the statutory channelling, a supplier can be exposed for damage the statute would treat as the operator’s responsibility, or for damage to the site itself that the conventions do not cover. Check whether the indemnity extends to your subcontractors, to transport to and from site, and to work on sites outside the UK, where a different liability regime may apply. A short review at bid stage costs far less than renegotiating after award.
Underestimating National Security and Investment Act timing
Civil nuclear is one of the mandatory-notification sectors under the National Security and Investment Act 2021. An acquisition of a qualifying stake in an entity carrying on relevant nuclear activities in the UK is void if it completes without approval, and that includes some minority investments and internal reorganisations. Investors sometimes discover late that a supplier, not just a site owner, falls within the definitions. Build the notification into the deal timetable from term sheet stage and consider whether a voluntary notification is sensible for borderline cases.
Ignoring export controls on nuclear technology
Nuclear materials, equipment, software and technology are controlled under the UK export control regime, and transfers of technical data by email or cloud access can count as exports. Projects that use international engineering teams, or UK suppliers serving overseas programmes, need classification and licensing before information moves. Parts of the Russian nuclear supply chain are also subject to UK sanctions designations, so counterparty screening matters for fuel, components and services. Our sanctions and export controls team handles licensing and screening.
Contracting for a regulatory regime that is about to change
The 2026 reform programme will change who makes some regulatory decisions and how proportionality is assessed, but much of it still needs legislation. Contracts signed now should identify which regulatory events give relief, how a merged regulator or Nuclear Commission is treated, and whether faster approvals change incentives or milestone payments. A narrow change-in-law clause drafted for a stable regime can leave one party bearing the cost of reform, or deny the other the benefit of it.
Weak dispute resolution drafting on long programmes
Nuclear construction programmes run for a decade or more, and the dispute clause often determines whether a disagreement is resolved in weeks or years. Tiered clauses, adjudication rights under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 for construction operations, expert determination for technical issues and arbitration for international parties all have a place. Make sure the tiers fit together, the seat and rules are clear, and confidentiality works alongside the security obligations that apply to nuclear information.
Cross-border angle: Bangladesh, the Gulf and international supply chains
Many international businesses come to UK nuclear through the supply chain or through finance. Others are UK suppliers working on overseas programmes. Either way, nuclear lawyers UK and overseas parties instruct need to keep three systems in view: UK law, the law of the host country, and the international conventions on liability, safeguards and non-proliferation.
Bangladesh, where TRW & Co is headquartered, is building its first nuclear power plant at Rooppur with the Russian state nuclear corporation. Bangladesh has its own nuclear regulator, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority, and its own liability arrangements, which differ from the Paris Convention framework that applies in the UK. UK and international suppliers to that programme need to check sanctions exposure, export licensing and the governing law and seat of their contracts.
Gulf states, Singapore and China have their own nuclear and technology-transfer rules. English law and London arbitration are common choices for international nuclear supply and services contracts; for drafting points see our guide to English law in Bangladesh contracts. Where local advice is needed, our offices in Dhaka, Dubai, Singapore and China coordinate with the London team.
How our nuclear lawyers in the UK help
TRW & Co acts as nuclear lawyers UK-wide from our Holborn office, combining regulatory, corporate, finance and disputes capability. We do not claim higher rights of audience; where advocacy in the higher courts is required, we instruct specialist counsel.
Supply-chain contracts
We review and negotiate supply, services and subcontract terms for nuclear new build, operating fleet and decommissioning, focusing on liability channelling, indemnities, quality flow-downs and regulatory delay.
Investment and M&A
We advise investors on acquisitions in nuclear businesses and suppliers, including National Security and Investment Act notifications, due diligence on licences and regulatory history, and shareholder arrangements.
Regulatory strategy
We help prospective licensees and vendors understand licensing, Generic Design Assessment, environmental permits and planning, and how the 2026 reforms affect their programme.
Financing and revenue models
We advise on CfD and RAB structures, government support packages, funded decommissioning programmes and lender requirements, working with our project finance team.
Export controls and sanctions
We classify nuclear technology and equipment, apply for export licences, and screen counterparties and supply chains against UK sanctions designations.
Disputes
We conduct construction and supply disputes in adjudication, the Technology and Construction Court and international arbitration, including claims on overseas nuclear programmes.
If you are bidding into a nuclear programme, ask for the full nuclear liability, insurance and security schedules at tender stage. They are often issued late, yet they drive pricing, insurance cost and whether your subcontractors will sign on the same terms.
Checklist for decision-makers
Before you instruct nuclear lawyers UK-wide on a bid, deal or dispute, work through these questions internally.
- Have we identified who the licensee is, and whether it has the controlling-mind capability ONR expects?
- Does our contract’s nuclear liability protection mirror the 1965 Act and cover subcontractors and transport?
- Does any investment or reorganisation trigger a mandatory National Security and Investment Act notification?
- Are technology transfers and equipment classified for export control, and counterparties screened for sanctions?
- Which revenue model applies, and which construction and regulatory risks stay with us?
- Do change-in-law and regulatory-delay clauses work under both the current regime and the reformed one?
- Is the dispute clause workable for a long programme and compatible with security obligations?
To discuss a nuclear project, contract or investment, contact our London office or browse all our practices.
Frequently asked questions
01Who regulates nuclear power stations in the UK?
The Office for Nuclear Regulation grants nuclear site licences and regulates safety, security, safeguards and the transport of radioactive material. The Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and SEPA issue radioactive substances and other environmental permits. Planning consent for large stations comes from the Secretary of State under the Planning Act 2008. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero sets policy, approves funded decommissioning programmes and oversees revenue models. Following the 2026 reforms, ONR and the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator are due to merge and a Nuclear Commission will resolve conflicts between regulators, subject to legislation.
02Can a company transfer its nuclear site licence on a sale?
No. A nuclear site licence is granted to a named body corporate and cannot be transferred. Buyers therefore usually acquire the licensee company itself rather than its assets, and ONR will want to understand any change in ownership, governance or resources. A share acquisition of a civil nuclear business is also likely to need mandatory clearance under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 before completion. Where a new company must hold the licence, ONR has to grant a fresh licence, which takes time and needs the new company to demonstrate it can act as the site's controlling mind.
03What is Generic Design Assessment and is it compulsory?
Generic Design Assessment is a staged review of a reactor design by ONR and the environment agencies before a site is chosen. It is not legally compulsory, but in practice it is the expected route for new reactor designs because it de-risks the later site licence and permit applications. A design that receives a Design Acceptance Confirmation allows a site applicant to build on the generic safety case, provided the installation is substantially the same. Investors in SMR and advanced reactor developers usually treat GDA progress as a key milestone in their valuation and funding decisions.
04Is a supplier liable if a nuclear incident damages third parties?
Under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, liability for third-party damage caused by a nuclear occurrence is channelled to the licensed operator, which must hold financial security for it. Third parties generally cannot sue suppliers for that damage. However, the channelling does not cover every loss, such as damage to the site itself or non-nuclear causes, and suppliers working overseas may face a different regime. Suppliers therefore rely on contractual indemnities and waivers from the operator. Those clauses should be reviewed carefully against the statutory definitions.
05How is new nuclear financed in the UK?
Hinkley Point C uses a Contract for Difference, which pays a strike price only once the plant generates. Sizewell C uses the regulated asset base model under the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act 2022, which lets the project company recover an allowed revenue from electricity suppliers during construction, combined with a government support package. The Wylfa SMR programme is being delivered through Great British Energy - Nuclear, the government-owned delivery body. Each model allocates construction, cost and regulatory risk differently, which drives the terms that equity investors and lenders will accept.
06Does investment in a nuclear supplier need government approval?
It may. Civil nuclear is one of the mandatory-notification sectors under the National Security and Investment Act 2021, and the definitions can capture businesses supplying certain services or technology to nuclear sites, not just site owners. If an acquisition of a qualifying interest in an in-scope entity completes without approval, it is void and criminal and civil penalties may follow. Even outside the mandatory regime, the government can call in transactions that raise national security concerns, so a short scoping review early in the deal is worthwhile.
07Does the UK nuclear regime cover fusion energy?
Not in the same way. The Nuclear Installations Act 1965 expressly excludes fusion energy facilities from the definition of nuclear reactor, so fusion projects do not need a nuclear site licence from ONR. Fusion is regulated mainly by the Health and Safety Executive and the environment agencies under existing radiation and environmental law, an approach confirmed in recent energy legislation. Planning for fusion facilities follows its own policy path. Developers still face contract, finance, export control and investment screening issues similar to those in fission projects.
Sources and official materials
- Nuclear Installations Act 1965 — Site licensing and third-party nuclear liability
- Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act 2022 — Regulated asset base model for nuclear
- The Nuclear Installations (Liability for Damage) Order 2016 — Implements the 2004 Paris and Brussels Protocols
- National Policy Statement for nuclear energy generation (EN-7) — Planning policy for new nuclear
- Building our nuclear nation: government response to the Nuclear Regulatory Review 2025 — March 2026 regulatory reform programme
- Office for Nuclear Regulation — Nuclear safety, security and safeguards regulator
- Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018 — Domestic nuclear safeguards regime
General information only, current as at 21 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor–client relationship. It reflects the law of England and Wales unless stated otherwise; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate legal systems, and the law changes frequently. Check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.