Malcolm Grimston

Dr Malcolm Grimston is an academic and nuclear expert.

He is associate fellow in the Energy, Environment and Development Programme at The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, UK.

Grimston was previously Honorary Senior Research Fellow at ICEPT Imperial College.

Background

According to a biographical note:

Mr Malcolm C Grimston graduated from the University of Cambridge. He taught chemistry from 1980 to 1987, and in 1987 was appointed Director of the Talks Service at the UK Atomic Energy Authority. In 1992 he joined the British Nuclear Industry Forum as Energy Issues Adviser. In 1995 Malcolm Grimston took up an appointment at Imperial College, London, as a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Environmental Technology, researching energy policy issues. In 1999 he was appointed a Senior Research Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London, conducting an investigation into the future of civil nuclear energy. He is currently an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, and the author of numerous articles for journals etc.

Pro-nuclear activities

Letter to UK Government over slow 'strike price' negotiations with EDF Energy

In April 2013 Grimston was one of 18 influential signatories to an open letter to the editor of the Sunday Telegraph arguing that 'Nuclear energy brings significant public health and environmental benefits'. It pushed the case that 'building a fleet of new nuclear power stations rather than one reactor at a time will lead to considerable economies of scale and lower costs for consumers. It will also provide the reliable, secure, low-carbon energy urgently needed in this country. However, we are becoming increasingly concerned at the apparent slow progress of negotiations between the Government and EDF Energy for Hinkley Point C, and we fear this aspiration could be undermined if a deal on the pioneer project is not resolved satisfactorily'. Grimston's name appeared alongside prominent scientific advocates of nuclear power including David King the former Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK government, Dame Sue Ion, Independent Consultant, Professor Simon Biggs FREng Professor of Particle Science & Engineering University of Leeds, Professor Jon Billowes, Professor of Nuclear Physics at The University of Manchester, Professor Colin Boxall The Lloyd's Register Foundation Chair in Nuclear Engineering and Decommissioning Lancaster University and David Cope of Cambridge University.

'Winning hearts and minds' post-Fukushima

Grimston has reportedly spoken about the nuclear industry's need for 'winning hearts and minds' saying that its PR has been 'too defensive and reactive'following the Fukushima disaster.

“The industry’s obsession with communicating its safety message is in danger of arousing, not allaying, public concern,” he said. “It’s a bit like an airline running an ad that says ‘If you fly on one of our aircraft, there’s a very good chance the wings won’t fall off – and if they do, we provide you with a lifejacket’.”

Heavyweight former BNFL nuclear lobbyist Philip Dewhurst believes that Grimston 'had a point'.

Recent publications and articles

• Turn to nuclear, Prospect , 18 September 2013
• The nuclear option, Prospect Blog, 5 March 2013
• Nuclear, Prospect , 12 September 2012
• Energy special: Nuclear non-reaction, Prospect,20 March 2012
• Energy special: Nuclear may make sense, despite concerns, Prospect, 23 March 2011
• Electricity - Social Service or Market Commodity? The Importance of Clarity for Decision-making on Nuclear Build, Programme Paper, June 2010
• Power: New Generation', The World Today, November 2008
• Generating Profits? Can Liberalized Markets fit the Electricity Bill?, 2005
• Double or Quits - The Global Future of Civil Nuclear Energy, with Peter Beck, Earthscan Books, 2002
• Civil Nuclear Power - Fuel of the Future or Relic of the Past?, with Peter Beck, RIIA, 2000
• Coal as an Energy Source, IEA, 1999
• 'Leukaemia and Nuclear Establishments - Fifteen Years of Research', Advances in Nuclear Science and Technology vol 26, 1999
• 'Chernobyl and Bhopal - Comparisons and Contrasts', Advances in Nuclear Science and Technology vol 24, 1997

Contact

• Email Malcolm Grimston

Telephone: +44 20 8767 0928 Fax: +44 20 7867 0928