Rolls-Royce and EDF in running to build Britain’s first mini-nukes

Rolls-Royce and France’s EDF are on a shortlist of nuclear energy companies in the running to win government support for their small modular reactor (SMR) designs.

Six companies will progress to the next round of the competition, which will see them bid for contracts to build demonstrator power plants.

The winning bidders, with an unconfirmed number of contracts available, will be announced in the spring, the Government said on Monday.

They would be expected to deploy the first so-called mini-nukes in the 2030s.

Rolls-Royce, the British engineer that has been developing designs based on the reactors it makes for nuclear-powered submarines, and NuScale Power, a US start-up that has had designs approved by US regulators, are among those vying for the contracts.

The remaining bidders are France’s EDF, which already operates UK nuclear plants including Sizewell B and Heysham 1 and 2, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Holtec Britain and Westinghouse.

The shortlist will be seen as an important step forward for Rolls, which is marketing SMRs to potential customers around the world.

Many potential customers have said they are reluctant to commit before the UK Government itself backs the technology.

Chris Cholerton, chief executive of Rolls-Royce’s SMR division, said: “Securing a domestic contract is vitally important to unlock the enormous global export potential of our clean energy technology.”

Rolls wants to sell SMRs that would have a capacity of 470 megawatts each and cost around £2bn.

By comparison, Hinkley Point C will have a maximum capacity of about 3.3 gigawatts and could cost more than £30bn when inflation is accounted for.

Under the UK’s energy security strategy, ministers want nuclear energy to provide one quarter of the country’s electricity supply by 2050.

However, with all but one of Britain’s existing nuclear reactors to be retired this decade and just one, Hinkley Point C, currently under construction, this will require a new generation of power stations to be built.

The large-scale Sizewell C project, in Suffolk, is one scheme being pushed by the Government but SMRs are seen as attractive by both ministers and businesses because they are expected to be faster, less complex and cheaper to build.

They are likely to be part-assembled in factories, with identical components made at scale to bring down costs.

Gwen Parry-Jones, chief executive of Great British Nuclear, the government body set up to bring forward sites for new nuclear power plants, said: “[Monday’s] announcement is a key step forward in delivering the Government’s objective of boosting nuclear power in this country.

“Our priority in this process has been to prioritise reliable and sustainable power to the grid early, and that’s why we have focused our first step on the technologies that we viewed as most likely to meet the objective of a final investment decision in 2029.  

“This is a hugely exciting day for the nuclear industry, with six companies taking the first step towards delivering sustainable power for Britain.”

Claire Coutinho, the Energy Security Secretary, added: “Small Modular Reactors will help the UK rapidly expand nuclear power and deliver cheaper, cleaner, and more secure energy for British families and businesses, create well-paid, high-skilled jobs, and grow the economy.

“This competition has attracted designs from around the world and puts the UK at the front of the global race to develop this exciting, cutting-edge technology and cement our position as a world leader in nuclear innovation.”

For companies that did not make it on to the shortlist, the Government will launch a consultation for “alternative routes to market”.