The British government has announced that it is investing £18-million in a small modular reactor (SMR) project being developed by a consortium of companies led by Rolls-Royce. It will also invest up to £40-million in research and development grants for up to four advanced modular reactor (AMR) projects (£10-million for each project); the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is currently evaluating project bids for the AMR funding.

SMRs and AMRs are categorised as advanced and innovative nuclear technologies currently being developed. The British define SMRs as smaller water-cooled reactors, developed from current nuclear power plant reactors, while AMRs use new fuels and cooling systems and could also offer new applications for nuclear energy. (South Africa’s Pebble Bed Modular Reactor project, terminated in 2010, was an AMR.) “Modular reactors are smaller than conventional nuclear power station reactors and are designed so that much of the plant can be built in a factory and transported to site for construction,” explained the BEIS in its press release.

Further, the UK government is also allocating up to £5-million to the country’s Office for Nuclear Regulation and Environmental Agency. This will be used to “modernise the Generic Design Assessment” and increase the agency’s readiness to make SMR and AMR licensing decisions in the future.

In its own press release, Rolls-Royce, on behalf of its consortium, “warmly” welcomed the UK government’s announcement. Creating Jobs “Our [SMR] design will bolster the UK’s ambitions to tackle climate change while taking a further step towards creating an estimated 40 000 British jobs, reinvigorating a vital part of the country’s advanced manufacturing base and potentially generating hundreds of billions of pounds in export revenues,” said the company.

The investment by government will be partly matched by the consortium and by attracting third-party investment. “The investment is needed to mature the design, address the considerable manufacturing technology requirements and to progress the regulatory licensing process,” explained the company. It expressed confidence that this early government coinvestment in the project, which it described as “an attractive commercial proposition”, would reduce the need for future State funding for low-carbon power infrastructure for the country.

Rolls-Royce affirmed that the joint investment was creating the basis for the establishment of a domestic nuclear powder industry. This would “provide the reliable and affordable electricity that Britain needs to lead the world in the drive towards net zero carbon emissions; further bolster the take-up of other renewable energies by providing reliable power, helping to guarantee Britain’s energy security and position [the country] as a leading innovator in low-carbon technologies; [and] inspire a new generation of young engineers, chemists and physicists, draw upon the expertise of the country’s world-leading universities; and create valuable intellectual property”.

The company further highlighted that the programme was creating opportunities to resuscitate sectors of British heavy industry and promote prosperity across various regions of the country, through the building and operation of SMR power stations and their associated advanced manufacturing activities. It would also create job opportunities, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises, in both the manufacturing and support area supply chains.

“By manufacturing the vast majority of the components required for new power stations within state-of-the-art facilities and then combining them on site, the consortium’s modular power plant also represents an ideal export opportunity,” it stressed. “There have already been expressions of interest from other countries, reinforcing the consortium’s confidence in the potential scale of the export opportunity, which could be in excess of £250-billion.”

Rolls-Royce is responsible for the design, construction and support of the small nuclear power plants that power Britain’s atomic submarines. The consortium’s other members are Arup, Assystem, BAM Nuttal, Laing O’Rourke, the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, the National Nuclear Laboratory, Siemens, SNC Lavalin/Atkins and Wood.