The company will assist in recycling the United Kingdom’s plutonium stockpile, converting it into zero-emission electricity.

Iberdrola is working toward finding a new use for spent nuclear fuel. The Spanish electric utility has joined forces with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) in order to develop a technology that converts plutonium stockpiles into clean electricity.

The two companies will together develop GEH’s PRISM technology as a potential long-term solution for the reuse of excess nuclear fuel in the United Kingdom. They will also analyze the possibilities for this technology in order to recycle plutonium stockpiles and generate electricity in conjunction with the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which is responsible for dismantling British nuclear reactors and managing existing plutonium stockpiles.

PRISM is a high-energy neutron reactor. This technology promises to be a safe and clean solution that could take advantage of the potential energy in used nuclear fuel (plutonium), converting it into energy that does not produce CO2 emissions in the process.

According to estimates from the two companies, PRISM technology—which has a useful life of at least 60 years—could recycle the existing stockpile of plutonium in the United Kingdom in about 25 years. This stockpile has now reached 100 tons. GEH is the nuclear alliance between GE and Hitachi. It is one of the world’s leaders in providing nuclear technology and services and has been collaborating with Iberdrola for decades in the development of nuclear projects.