Rolls-Royce Submarines has appointed Mott MacDonald and AtkinsRéalis to design the expansion of its nuclear-licensed site at Raynesway in Derby.
It follows Rolls-Royce’s announcement in 2023 of a 10-year expansion programme to double the site’s size to meet increasing submarine demand from the Royal Navy and the trilateral security partnership between the UK, the US and Australia (AUKUS).
The expansion project includes the building of new manufacturing and office facilities. Because Raynesway is a nuclear-licensed site, the design and construction of its fissile facilities are particularly complex.
Mott MacDonald and AtkinsRéalis will work together as the PROPEL joint venture. The contractor to build the new facilities is yet to be appointed.
Rolls-Royce Submarines employs more than 5,000 people and designs, manufactures and provides in-service support to the pressurised water reactors that power every boat in the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet.
The company said the expansion will create 1,170 skilled roles across a range of disciplines, including manufacturing and engineering.
Rolls-Royce Submarines infrastructure director, Terry Meighan, said: “The expansion work we have planned is of critical national importance as it enables us to safely increase our speed of manufacture, helping to deliver Dreadnought and the new SSN-AUKUS attack submarines at a much faster rate.”
