Rolls-Royce secures backing to enter SMR sector

Modular reactors to be available to UK grid by early 2030s as government and equity investors bet on potential of low-carbon power source

Automaker Rolls-Royce has launched a new business to supply small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) after securing a total of £405mn ($549mn) of funding for the venture from the UK government and equity investors including Exelon Generation, America’s largest nuclear power plant operator. The new business unit, Rolls-Royce SMR, will seek regulatory approval for SMR designs through the UK’s Generic Design Assessment process and start identifying potential sites for the manufacture of modules. SMR technology will be available to the UK power grid in the early 2030s, and the firm is also looking to sell into export markets. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the UK to deploy more low-c