Rolls-Royce SMR has been selected as the preferred bidder to build one of Europe’s first small modular reactor (SMR) fleets and the first in the UK.
The company will partner with Great British Energy – Nuclear, Britain’s state-owned energy company, to develop SMRs, subject to final government approvals and contract signature.
The announcement follows a two-year competition process to select nuclear technology and suppliers for deployment in the UK.
It comes after the government announced plans to reform planning rules to make it easier to build nuclear facilities across the country, including SMRs.
SMRs are smaller and quicker to build than traditional nuclear plants, with costs likely to come down as units are rolled out.
The global SMR market is projected to reach up to nearly £500 billion by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.
Great British Energy – Nuclear plans to allocate a site later this year and connect projects to the grid in the mid-2030s.
Ending the no-nuclear status quo
Once SMRs and Sizewell C come online in the 2030s, combined with the new station at Hinkley Point C, the government said this will deliver more nuclear power to the grid than over the previous half century.
Great British Energy – Nuclear is aiming to sign contracts with Rolls-Royce SMR later this year and will form a development company.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “We are ending the no-nuclear status quo as part of our Plan for Change and are entering a golden age of nuclear with the biggest building programme in a generation.
“Great British Energy – Nuclear has run a rigorous competition and will now work with the preferred bidder Rolls-Royce SMR to build the country’s first ever small modular reactors – creating thousands of jobs and growing our regional economies while strengthening our energy security.”
