2 min read - 9 Nov, 2026
Rolls-Royce Submarines and INFINITY partner on Derby Tech Park
Rolls-Royce Submarines has announced a strategic partnership with INFINITY aimed at developing large-scale prototypes of advanced defence components.
INFINITY is creating a 200-acre technology park in Derby that will bring together full-scale prototyping, digital engineering, testing and validation, skills development and supply chain collaboration onto a single site. It will develop new approaches to manufacturing designed to increase speed and capacity while reducing materials and costs per unit.
The Rolls-Royce Nuclear Skills Academy already operates on the site, and the company will now work with INFINITY to develop a host of additional capabilities at the park.
These will bring sovereign capacity for technologies and processes, including hot isostatic pressing, power beam welding and additive manufacturing. This will shorten development cycles, providing greater control over the manufacture of large and strategically important components for fusion, fission, defence, aerospace and more. It will also strengthen national resilience by expanding the industrial capacity available to support the submarine programmes.
An artist’s impression of the INFINITY Technology Park headquarters / Picture: INFINITY
By uniting industrial partners, specialist suppliers, universities, and skills providers on one site, the park gives companies operating at high Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) greater access to advanced facilities. This will help them develop the capabilities required for highly regulated sectors.
The project will create an estimated 17,500 skilled jobs, providing a significant boost to the East Midlands economy.
Lee Warren, engineering and technology director at Rolls-Royce Submarines, said: “As our business grows to meet the demand for our naval nuclear propulsion work, including increasing our manufacturing drumbeat and providing reactors to Australia as part of the AUKUS agreement, we need to ensure we are continually exploring new technologies.
“For over 65 years, we have designed, developed, manufactured, and maintained the reactors that power the UK’s fleet of nuclear submarines and we have done this by balancing consistent delivery with exploring future innovations.
“The INFINITY technology park means we can focus on delivery at our Raynesway site in Derby, while continuing to lead the way in advanced manufacturing techniques for the next generation of nuclear power from purpose-built facilities. It further enhances Derby’s reputation as a hub for nuclear expertise.”
Professor Gary Jones, chief executive at INFINITY, said: “A key objective of INFINITY is to support sovereign manufacture of advanced components, and this agreement will help to achieve that by providing new capabilities for the UK defence programme. I am very proud to announce our partnership and look forward to working with Rolls-Royce Submarines.”
