It may have been the most postponed and twisted decision, but finally the Rolls-Royce SMR design has been selected as the preferred bidder to partner with Great British Energy – Nuclear to develop small modular reactors.

Rolls-Royce beat competing designs from GE-Hitachi and Holtec International following the two-year selection process.

DESNZ has heralded this as marking a ‘new golden age of nuclear’ in the UK, with the Government pledging over £2.5bn for the overall small modular reactor programme in this Spending Review period.

Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO, Rolls-Royce, said:” This is a very significant milestone for our business and Rolls-Royce SMR. It is a vote of confidence in our unique nuclear capabilities, which will be recognised by governments around the world. It is also evidence that the strategic choices we have made in the transformation of Rolls-Royce are delivering. I believe the value of Rolls-Royce SMR will grow materially from here as we successfully execute and deliver on the potential of this venture. I would like to thank the team in Rolls-Royce SMR for their hard work and dedication in getting to this important stage.”

The Government has, at the same time, announced a total investment of £14.2bn to build the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk, with French company EDF leading.

Great British Energy - Nuclear will also aim to allocate sites for the SMRs later this year and connect projects to the grid in the mid-2030s. Once small modular reactors and Sizewell C come online in the 2030s, combined with the new station at Hinkley Point C, the combined output should deliver more nuclear energy to the grid than over the previous half century.

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