Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Programme
UK (development and future deployment) · 2015-ongoing (development phase, with first SMRs expected in early 2030s) · £280 million (private investment) + £210 million (government grant funding) for development phase; £2.6 billion (allocated in 2025 Spending Review for SMRs); forecast to generate £52 billion in economic benefit by 2050.
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchThe modular design approach aims to significantly reduce construction time and cost compared to traditional large-scale nuclear power plants. - Government backing and private investment highlight the strategic importance of SMRs for meeting future energy demands and decarbonization targets. - The program emphasizes the UK's leadership in nuclear technology and its potential for job creation and economic growth. - The focus on factory-built components and standardized design is a key innovation to streamline deployment and improve project predictability.
Key engineering challenges
Developing a standardized, factory-built SMR design for rapid deployment and reduced construction costs. - Ensuring the safety and regulatory approval of a novel nuclear reactor design. - Integrating advanced manufacturing techniques to produce SMR components efficiently and at scale. - Overcoming public perception and political hurdles associated with nuclear power development.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd (a consortium including Rolls-Royce, BNF Resources UK Limited, and Exelon Generation)
- Lead contractor
- Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd
- Lead designers
- Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd
- Project type
- development | new build
- Scale
- Each SMR power station will generate up to 470MWe of low carbon energy; designed to power a million homes for 60+ years; forecast to create 40,000 regional UK jobs by 2050.
- Disciplines
- nuclear engineering; mechanical engineering; electrical engineering; civil engineering; systems engineering; materials science; safety engineering
- Standards & frameworks
- Generic Design Assessment (GDA) by UK nuclear regulators (ONR and Environment Agency); IAEA safety standards.
Sources: Rolls-Royce SMR: Our technology (https://gda.rolls-royce-smr.com/our-technology) - Rolls-Royce SMR: To Deliver Clean, Affordable Energy For All (https://www.rolls-royce-smr.com/) - GOV.UK: Great British Energy - Nuclear and Rolls-Royce SMR sign contract (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/great-british-energy-nuclear-and-rolls-royce-smr-sign-contract) - Wikipedia: Rolls-Royce SMR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_SMR) - Rolls-Royce: Small Modular Reactors (https://www.rolls-royce.com/innovation/small-modular-reactors.aspx)