The UK government has pledged quite a considerable amount of money to the second phase of its Low-Cost Nuclear project. The project is being helmed by Rolls-Royce SMR and is part of a plan to power homes without the need for fossil fuels, and is currently in a stage of development where it will be determined whether the energy systems can be deployed across the country.
The pledge has seen the government shell out £210 million to help the project along, a batch of funding that is also being met by a further £250 million from private investment to ensure the project is aptly supported. If the reactors are found as viable, they will be able to power up to one million homes with one unit, which would account for a portion of the country approximately the size of Leeds.
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the UK to deploy more low carbon energy than ever before and ensure greater energy independence," said Kwasi Kwarteng, business and energy secretary. "Small modular reactors offer exciting opportunities to cut costs and build more quickly, ensuring we can bring clean electricity to people's homes and cut our already-dwindling use of volatile fossil fuels even further."
"In working with Rolls Royce, we are proud to back the largest engineering collaboration the UK has ever seen - uniting some of the most respected and innovating organisations on the planet. Not only can we maximise British content, create new intellectual property and reinvigorate supply chains, but also position our country as a global leader in innovative nuclear technologies we can potentially export elsewhere."
The plan for the small modular reactors (SMR) is to have the systems be cheaper to build and run due to their smaller size, and as for how the SMRs will be modular, that is down to how the systems will be built in individual components, making them easier to manufacturer and transport to a site.
"With the Rolls-Royce SMR technology, we have developed a clean energy solution which can deliver cost competitive and scalable net zero power for multiple applications from grid and industrial electricity production to hydrogen and synthetic fuel manufacturing," said Warren East, Rolls-Royce chief executive. "The business could create up to 40,000 jobs, through UK deployment and export enabled growth. As a major shareholder in Rolls-Royce SMR, we will continue to support its path to successful deployment."