Three interactive demonstrations showing how a CFF operator manages the national fleet in real time — balancing the grid, activating emergency water supply, and delivering district heating to communities. Every scenario uses the same 28-site infrastructure.
When renewables dip, the operator surgically ramps down hydrogen production at individual sites — freeing firm nuclear power for the grid. From a 5% nudge at one site to a full 50% fleet-wide Dunkelflaute response.
🎛️ Launch Full Operator Console →Take full control: per-site sliders, 24-hour weather simulation, live deficit tracking
Every site includes a dedicated desalination unit producing 50,000 m³/day of fresh water — independent of hydrogen production. The operator activates them for drought relief, irrigation emergencies, or burst mains.
Hot water leaves the CFF site at 95°C through insulated trunk mains, with booster stations maintaining temperature. Every home receives unlimited heating and hot water for a flat £500/year — no gas boiler, no carbon.
The Fleet Controls page provides three interactive demonstrations showing how a CFF operator manages the national fleet of 28 coastal mega-sites in real time. All three tools operate on the same underlying infrastructure — 28 identical sites, each containing 48 High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) modules, 44 High-Temperature Steam Electrolysis (HTSE) banks, 8 desalination units, and a district heating Heat Halo network.
The Safe-Flex Grid Operator demonstrates how the CFF fleet responds to renewable energy shortfalls. Under normal conditions, each site's full 3.6 GWe output powers on-site hydrogen production. When wind and solar generation falls short, operators reduce HTSE load at selected sites — instantly releasing firm, zero-carbon nuclear electricity to the national grid. A 50% reduction across all 28 sites releases up to 50.4 GW, with no startup delay, no carbon emissions, and no fuel cost. A full standalone version of this tool is available at the Safe-Flex Operator Console, which includes per-site slider control, a 24-hour weather simulation, and live grid deficit tracking.
Every CFF site includes eight desalination units. Seven run continuously to supply the ultra-pure water needed for HTSE hydrogen production. Unit 8 at each site is held as an independent strategic reserve — a dedicated desalination unit producing 50,000 cubic metres of fresh water per day, completely separate from the hydrogen production process. The Unit 8 operator demonstration shows how regional drought response, agricultural irrigation emergencies, and burst mains events can be managed by activating Unit 8 reserves across selected sites. Nationally, all 28 Unit 8 reserves combined can supply 1.4 million cubic metres of fresh water per day — drought-proof, coastally sourced, and independent of reservoirs and rainfall.
The Heat Halo schematic illustrates how residual heat from HTGR modules and HTSE processes is captured and distributed to surrounding communities. Rather than venting waste heat to the sea — as conventional power stations do — CFF routes hot water at 95°C through insulated trunk mains to homes within a 10-mile radius. Inside each home, a compact Heat Interface Unit replaces the gas boiler, delivering on-demand central heating and hot water for a flat £500 per year. Each site can heat approximately 280,000 homes; across 28 sites, the Heat Halo programme covers up to 7.84 million homes, permanently removing them from the gas grid with no capital cost to the householder and no annual service requirement.
Full programme details for each of these systems are covered in the Energy Strategy section. Economic analysis of the Heat Halo, hydrogen revenue, and water supply outputs is available in the Revenue and Funding section.
By DJ Waugh — Retired Engineer & Creator of Carbon Free Future
