Rolls-Royce SMR receives £599m boost to advance UK small modular reactor plans
Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has announced a new round of financing for Rolls-Royce SMR following its partnership with Ed Miliband’s state-owned energy company.
The National Wealth Fund has unveiled a £599m financing package for Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactors (SMR) with the aim of kick-starting the delivery of its project with Great British Energy.
The partnership will enable the creation of the UK’s first small modular reactors as part of the government’s push for clean energy.
Small modular reactors are designed to produce up to about one-third the electricity of conventional reactors. Developers argue that small reactors can be built more quickly and cost-effectively than larger power reactors, with the ability to scale to meet specific local demands.
Each Rolls-Royce SMR is expected to generate 470 megawatts of low-carbon electricity.
The capital infusion from the taxpayer-backed wealth fund is intended to reduce the project’s risk for private lenders, effectively using public funds to "crowd in" billions of additional investment from the City and international markets.
Rolls-Royce SMR set for jobs boon
Around a thousand jobs are expected to be created at Rolls-Royce SMR, which is co-owned by the FTSE 100 giant and Czech power company CEZ, through the funding.
Rolls-Royce SMR was selected as the preferred technology partner for the project last June, with around £2.6bn allocated in the 2025 Spending Review for the contract.
The Chancellor said, “This investment, along with vital financing from the National Wealth Fund, will strengthen our energy security, create skilled jobs, and help to build a new generation of homegrown nuclear technology that will power our economy for decades to come.”
Meanwhile, Ed Miliband said the government’s clean energy mission was “the only route to getting off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels and taking back control of our energy independence.”
The energy secretary has been under pressure over the past few weeks as oil and gas markets were rocked by the crisis in the Middle East.
The surge in energy prices has led to calls for the government to drill in the North Sea. But during a Prime Minister’s Questions session at the end of March, Sir Keir Starmer said he doesn’t have the legal authority to approve new exploration of the fields, with the decision resting in the hands of Miliband.
World Affairs Correspondent
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