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KT explainer: How Barakah power plant will produce clean nuclear energy

The power plant will meet up to 25 per cent of the UAE's electricity needs.

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Once operational, the Barakah Nuclear Energy Power Plant will meet up to 25 per cent of the UAE's electricity needs.

This week, Unit 1 of the Barakah Plant started up. But how can the splitting of an atom power our cities, homes and businesses? Take a trip inside Barakah to find out. #BarakahDream pic.twitter.com/q9F767EiNn
- Emirates Nuclear (@ENEC_UAE) August 1, 2020

The fuel inside Barkah's nuclear energy reactor is Uranium - and it has an interesting property. If it absorbs a small particle called a neutron, it will split, releasing heat together with more neutrons.
These new neutrons will hit more Uranium atoms, creating more heat and more neutrons. It is this process of nuclear fission that powers the reactor.

Using special equipment, nuclear plant workers safely control the reactor, managing the number of neutrons and therefore, the heat produced. The heat is used to create steam which spins a turbine to generate reliable plentiful electricity with zero carbon emissions.