Our vision

Clean, affordable energy for all

Our approach
Different, designed for delivery

Rolls-Royce SMR

The Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) - the UK’s first domestic nuclear technology in more than 20 years - providing a British solution to a global energy crisis.

Drawing on more than half a century of Rolls-Royce engineering heritage, this technology has been developed by a team with an unrivalled track record in nuclear design, regulatory engagement, manufacturing and assembly.

Each Rolls-Royce SMR power station will produce enough stable, affordable and emission-free energy to power a million homes for at least 60 years – more than any other SMR.

Energy security and net zero are key priorities for countries across the world, there is a global upsurge in demand for nuclear power with a host of nations – including the US, Canada, France, Japan and Sweden – pledging to triple nuclear capacity by 2050.

Rolls-Royce SMR is up to eighteen months ahead of competitors in any European regulatory process and, with this first mover advantage, is in pole position to become a world leader in SMR technology and the UK’s premier green export technology.

470 Megawatts

Each Rolls-Royce SMR will generate 470 megawatts of low carbon energy, equivalent to more than 150 onshore wind turbines

1,000,000 Homes

Each Rolls-Royce SMR will create enough low carbon energy to power one million homes for 60 years

£54 Billion

A fleet of Rolls-Royce SMRs could result in a contribution of up to £54 billion to the UK economy between 2025 and 2105

1358 MWth

Each Rolls-Royce SMR will generate 1358MWth, equivalent to more than 45,000 domestic boilers

Our progress

  • Factory 2050

    Rolls-Royce SMR is setting up a £multi-million facility in Sheffield, UK, to manufacture and test prototype modules for its small modular reactors (SMRs).

    The Rolls-Royce SMR Module Development Facility - housed within University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s existing Factory 2050 facilities - will produce working prototypes of the individual modules that will be assembled into Rolls-Royce SMR power plants.

    Read more

Our Journey

Rolls-Royce SMR has achieved an incredible amount in a short space of time, establishing itself as Europe’s leading Small Modular Reactor technology.
To celebrate our success so far, we’ve highlighted some of the most important milestones on our timeline.

  • 2024

    July

    Rolls-Royce SMR submits its tender response to Great British Nuclear as part of the process to select small modular reactor technologies for deployment in the UK.

  • July

    Rolls-Royce SMR presses home advantage as it moves into Step three (the final step) of UK regulatory assessment – 18 months ahead of any other SMR design.

  • June

    Swedish multinational power company, Vattenfall, shortlists Rolls-Royce SMR as one of just two companies competing to potentially deploy a fleet of SMRs in Sweden.

  • May

    £multi-million facility in Sheffield opens to manufacture and test prototype modules for Rolls-Royce SMRs.

  • May

    Poland’s Ministry of Climate and Environment has issues a Decision in Principle endorsing Rolls-Royce SMR technology.

  • 2023

    October

    Rolls-Royce SMR has been successfully shortlisted in the first stage of the Great British Nuclear SMR technology selection process.

  • April

    Rolls-Royce SMR progresses to Step two of the GDA, following the successful completion of the first step in the assessment by the UK’s independent nuclear regulators.

  • 2022

    November

    Rolls-Royce SMR prioritises sites for 15 GW of new nuclear power.

  • June

    Rolls-Royce SMR announces new headquarters in Manchester.

  • March

    Rolls-Royce SMR’s nuclear power plant design enters the GDA process with its regulators – the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales.

  • 2021

    December

    QIA joins Rolls-Royce Group, BNF Resources UK Ltd and Exelon Generation Ltd as shareholders in Rolls-Royce SMR. £280 million private investment, alongside £210 million of government grant funding, means the development phase of the Rolls-Royce SMR programme is fully funded.

  • November

    Rolls-Royce SMR submits a design for entry to the UK’s Generic Design Assessment (GDA) regulatory process.

  • November

    Rolls-Royce SMR Limited is established, to bring forward and deliver at scale the next generation of low cost, low carbon nuclear power technology.

  • May

    As its power plant design matures, Rolls-Royce targets regulatory assessment in 2021 and announces its SMR technology will provide 470MW of clean electricity - more than any other SMR design.

  • 2020

    November

    Rolls-Royce and Exelon Generation (now Constellation) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pursue the potential to operate compact nuclear power stations both in the UK and internationally.

  • 2019

    July

    The British Government provides £18 million of initial funds to support the development of a UK SMR as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

  • 2017

    September

    Rolls-Royce and its partner organisations publishes a study, entitled “UK SMR: A National Endeavour” which urges Ministers to support the development of British-manufactured power plants.

  • August

    Rolls-Royce and its partners form a UK Small Modular Reactor (SMR) consortium with the aim of to developing a programme for the UK to deliver a low-cost, factory built nuclear power station to help the UK meet its carbon commitments.

  • 2016

    January

    Team of 15 engineers within Rolls-Royce come together with the challenge of developing an SMR that is low cost, deliverable, scalable and investable.

  • New nuclear is an essential part of the clean energy system we are building, but it’s also an essential part of the kind of economy we are trying to build.

    Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

  • SMRs can be a cornerstone of the long-term, secure and low-cost decarbonised energy system that can power the future economy.

    Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

  • Energy security, decarbonisation and electrification are fundamental to the growth and success of modern economies and the health of the planet, and have led to a significant and inevitable growth in the demand for new nuclear power.

    I am honoured to have the opportunity to contribute to Rolls-Royce SMR and the deployment of the UK's vital and deliverable solution to the global energy security challenge.

    Sir Stephen Lovegrove GCMG KCB, Rolls-Royce SMR Chair

  • Next generation technologies such as Small and Advanced Modular Reactors, new nuclear will both produce low carbon power and create jobs and growth across the UK.

    The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, HM Government

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