The government said on Monday that Rolls-Royce (RR.L) and five other companies have advanced through the preliminary round of Britain’s competition to choose small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) developers.
To fulfill climate objectives and improve energy security, Britain wants to grow its nuclear-generating capacity to 24 gigawatts (GW) by 2050, up from approximately 14%. This would account for nearly a quarter of expected electricity consumption. The government thinks that a fleet of SMRs, which can be produced in factories at cheaper prices and with faster construction, would be able to replace some older nuclear facilities. Large new nuclear projects with significant upfront costs have difficulty attracting finance.
To implement projects in the 2030s, the government launched a competition in July to encourage technological development.
The other businesses selected for the next round of the procedure included EDF, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy International, Holtec Britain, NuScale Power (SMR.N), and Westinghouse Electric Company UK.
The sole firm whose SMR technology is scrutinized by European authorities is Rolls-Royce, whose primary business is producing engines for big passenger planes.
According to Chris Cholerton, CEO of the SMR business of Rolls-Royce, “securing a domestic contract is vitally important to unlock the enormous global export potential of our clean energy technology.” As its components are small enough to be moved on trucks and barges, SMRs can be built more swiftly and affordably than large-scale reactors.
The government promised to start the next round of the competition as soon as feasible. It anticipates announcing in the spring of 2024 which of the six firms will get funding and contracts by the summer of 2024.
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