Rolls-Royce SMR

RR began design work on the SMR c. 2015 with a team of about 150 people, with decisions made near the start of the project to use light water[lower-alpha 1] as both coolant and moderator.[2]

In 2016, it was reported that the UK Government was assessing Welsh SMR sites - including the former Trawsfynydd nuclear power station - and on the site of former nuclear or coal-fired power stations in Northern England. Existing nuclear sites including Bradwell, Hartlepool, Heysham, Oldbury, Sizewell, Sellafield and Wylfa were stated to be possibilities.[3]

In 2017, the consortium headed by RR needed to seek UK government finance to support further development.[2][4][5] In December 2017 The UK government provided funding of up to £56 million over three years to support SMR research and development.[6]

In 2019, the government committed a further £18 million to the development from its Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.[7] In November 2021, the UK government provided funding of £210 million to further develop the design, partly matched by £195 million of investment by Rolls Royce Group, BNF Resources UK Limited and Exelon Generation Limited.[8][9] At that point they expected the first unit would be completed in the early 2030s.[10]

In 2018, the UK SMR industry sought billions of pounds of government support to finance their putative First of a Kind projects. The Expert Finance Working Group on Small Reactors produced a report stating that there was "a current market failure in supporting nuclear projects generally" and identifying options for government to support SMR development in the UK.[11][12]

In 2020, it was reported that Rolls-Royce had plans to construct up to 16 SMRs in the UK. In 2019, the company received £18 million to begin designing the modular system.[13] An additional £210 million was awarded to Rolls-Royce by the British government in 2021, complemented by a £195 million contribution from private firms.[8]

On 1 April 2022, the regulatory Generic Design Assessment of the Rolls-Royce SMR started.[14]

RR is preparing a small modular reactor (SMR) design called the UK SMR, a close-coupled four-loop[lower-alpha 2] pressurized water reactor (PWR) design.[2] Power output was initially designed to be 440 MWe, and subsequently increased to 470 MWe which is above the usual range considered to be a SMR.[2][17][2][18] It should be able to power a city the size of Sheffield.[13]

The intended fuel is uranium dioxide (UO₂).[16] A modular forced draft cooling tower will be used.[18] The design targets a 500 day construction time, on a 10 acres (4 ha) site.[16][19] Overall build time is expected to be four years, two years for site preparation and two years for construction and commissioning.[20]

The target cost for a 470 MWe Rolls-Royce SMR unit is £1.8 billion for the fifth unit built.[21][18] As a comparison the estimated cost for the full-size 3.3 GWe Sizewell C nuclear power station is £22 billion.[13]

• List of small modular reactor designs
• Nuclear power in the United Kingdom
• U-Battery, a micro-SMR development also supported by the UK Government