Rolls-Royce SMR shortlisted in first stage of Great British Nuclear selection

Rolls-Royce SMR has been shortlisted in the first stage of the Great British Nuclear Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology selection process, marking another significant step towards the first plants being built here in the UK.

Using the UK’s home-grown nuclear technology, Rolls-Royce SMR is a factory-built nuclear power plant with the capacity to provide enough affordable clean electricity to power a million homes for 60+ years.

A successful outcome from the Great British Nuclear selection process will result in immediate investment in the UK supply chain and manufacturing sectors, creating thousands of high-skilled, long-term jobs.

Rolls-Royce SMR has been shortlisted in the first stage of the Great British Nuclear Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology selection process / Picture: Rolls-Royce

With a team of more than 600 UK-based people already working for the business, Rolls-Royce SMR says it is making good progress through the generic design assessment process with the nuclear industry’s independent regulators to secure consent for its technology to operate in the UK.

Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce SMR CEO, said: “The Rolls-Royce SMR is a British solution to the global energy security and decarbonisation challenge. We welcome our shortlisting and are eager to build on this progress, moving quickly to the next stage where we can work to agree a contract for deployment and help the government reach its ambition to deliver up to 24GW of nuclear power by 2050.

“We have the only SMR technology in a European regulatory approval process, putting us almost two years ahead of any of our competitors. Securing a domestic contract is vitally important to unlock the enormous global export potential of our clean energy technology.”