NRI Annual Review 2024 - Flipbook - Page 16
Rolls-Royce SMR: it is how we
deliver to customers with greater
ef昀椀ciency, certainty and speed,
and how we address the key
challenges the sector has faced
for many years. The ‘whole
power plant’ philosophy involves
a beginning-to-end process
which we own and oversee. A
process that will lower cost and
risk for developers and enhance
project success. For these
reasons, we believe it is
the most compelling way nuclear
can play a key role in a clean
energy future.
UK content,
global outlook
Rolls-Royce SMR is one of six
companies shortlisted as part
of GBN’s selection process for
SMR technology development.
As the only UK company on
the shortlist, we are prioritising
product delivery in our domestic
market before expanding
internationally. This approach
gives us an opportunity to
achieve proof of concept on home
soil while helping to realise the
UK Government’s ambition of
delivering 24 gigawatts of new
nuclear by 2050.
The next stage in the selection
process will involve setting
out our costs, schedule and
prospective partners, as well as
explaining our delivery structure
and other key elements. The aim
is for GBN to appoint its winning
technology providers before
the end of 2024, which will
deliver the contractual certainty
required to stimulate supply
chains and investment.
Currently, UK suppliers have
a wealth of knowledge and
capability but lack, to some
16
extent, the capacity to deliver.
To maximise UK content in SMR
projects will therefore result in
higher initial costs as capability
and capacity grow, compared
with using companies that have
been delivering components
for many years in countries
like South Korea or the Czech
Republic. But the UK-昀椀rst
approach will drive domestic
skills development, with costs
reducing through the learning
curve as more and more units
are produced. From Rolls-Royce
SMR’s perspective, contractual
certainty and project demand
are the only real answers to
perceived skills shortages. This
is the ‘昀氀eet argument’ and longterm vision that will enable the
UK to develop a thriving new
nuclear sector.
GBN selection will support
our export proposition as
well. As we navigate the UK
regulatory landscape, we are
also engaged in competitive
processes in Finland, Sweden
and the Netherlands, among
other countries. Appetite for
new nuclear has increased
sharply since the war in
Ukraine, which has refocused
governments’ minds on energy
security. And once established
in the UK, Rolls-Royce SMR
aims to work through European
factories and international hubs
to meet rising global demand
for SMR technology. While
we are currently prioritising
existing nuclear nations (those
with supportive governments,
utilities and regulators), we are
also receiving inquiries from
non-nuclear states looking to
diversify their energy supply. In
this way, we hope to expand our
global reach and impact.
A truly sustainable
energy future
In order to roll out a truly global
SMR programme, regulatory
harmonisation will be essential
in the years ahead. Presently,
following the extensive and
rigorous process of gaining
domestic regulatory approval,
companies are subject to
further regulation in foreign
markets. At Rolls-Royce SMR,
we are calling for regulators in
different countries to collaborate
more closely while respecting
one another’s sovereignty; to
work together to make SMR
development more streamlined
and ef昀椀cient.
By removing regulatory barriers,
we can further prove the
viability of SMRs which, in turn,
enhances public perception
of new nuclear as part of the
energy landscape. Nuclear
is increasingly regarded as a
core component of the net-zero
transition. But hitting net-zero
is one thing: to deliver a truly
sustainable energy future, we
need to look well beyond 2050.
In the UK, with the exception of
Sizewell B, no other electricity
project currently connected to
the grid will be operating by
mid-century. We urgently need
to deliver new sources of lowcarbon, low-cost energy for the
next 60 years and more. And it
is essential that new nuclear and
SMRs play a central part in
this process.
