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Released February 04, 2020 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Rolls Royce (LSE:RR) (London, England) wants to build up to 15 small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in the U.K, with the first one to be commissioned by the end of the decade.
The company, which heads up a broad consortium of companies promoting modular nuclear technology, believes that SMRs will be capable of being built far more cheaply than traditional nuclear power plants in factories before being transferred to site by regular lorries for rapid assembly inside a weatherproof canopy. Paul Stein, chief technology officer for Rolls-Royce, told BBC Radio 4 that a typical SMR power station will generate 440 megawatts (MW) of electricity, have a lifespan of 60 years and produce power at a competitive rate of £60 ($78) per megawatt-hour (MWh). Construction costs per plant are estimated at £1.75 billion ($2.28 billion).
"Our plan is to get energy on the grid in 2029," Prescott told the BBC. "The obvious sites to put them are what we call brownfield sites -- sites where we're running elderly or decommissioned nuclear power stations. There are two sites in Wales and one in the northwest of England. Eventually in the U.K., we'll be rolling out 10 to 15. We're also looking to a significant export market. In fact, the current estimate for the export market for SMRs is £250 billion, so this could be a huge industry."
He added: "Our desire has not been to create a new nuclear reactor. In fact, the design of the nuclear reactor is one that we've been running for many, many years in nuclear power stations around the world. It's been a relentless focus on cost and it's the first time that's been done -- to take a look at a whole power station design and not just the nuclear island, also the other parts of the power station, and the civil engineering construction and the time from starting it to finishing it. And I think it's the first time an industrial consortium has focused on driving down the cost of electricity to the consumer, and it's arrived just at the right time with escalating concerns about climate change."
The Rolls-Royce consortium includes Assystem, BAM Nuttall, Laing O'Rourke, National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), Atkins, Wood, The Welding Institute (TWI) and Nuclear AMRC. In November, it received a government investment of £18 million ($23.4 million) via the U.K. Research Institute (UKRI) to further the preliminary design for its SMR, which has been underway for four years.
In December 2017, the U.K. revealed its plan to be a leader in the development of SMR technology with the announcement of £56 million ($75.5 million) in research funding over a three-year period. For additional information, see December 14, 2017, article - U.K. Funds Small Nuclear Reactors and Fusion Power. In 2019, the U.K. government committed £220 million (£286 million) for the early development of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), the country's attempt to build the world's first commercial fusion power station. Industrial Info is tracking the most advanced fusion power project--ITER--in France. The world's first commercial-scale fusion power reactor reached the construction halfway point at the end of 2017. The 20 billion-euro ($23.5 billion) Tokamak project is an international collaboration between the European Union (EU), China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the U.S. The reactor will have an initial generating capacity of 500 megawatts, with first plasma scheduled for 2025.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The company, which heads up a broad consortium of companies promoting modular nuclear technology, believes that SMRs will be capable of being built far more cheaply than traditional nuclear power plants in factories before being transferred to site by regular lorries for rapid assembly inside a weatherproof canopy. Paul Stein, chief technology officer for Rolls-Royce, told BBC Radio 4 that a typical SMR power station will generate 440 megawatts (MW) of electricity, have a lifespan of 60 years and produce power at a competitive rate of £60 ($78) per megawatt-hour (MWh). Construction costs per plant are estimated at £1.75 billion ($2.28 billion).
"Our plan is to get energy on the grid in 2029," Prescott told the BBC. "The obvious sites to put them are what we call brownfield sites -- sites where we're running elderly or decommissioned nuclear power stations. There are two sites in Wales and one in the northwest of England. Eventually in the U.K., we'll be rolling out 10 to 15. We're also looking to a significant export market. In fact, the current estimate for the export market for SMRs is £250 billion, so this could be a huge industry."
He added: "Our desire has not been to create a new nuclear reactor. In fact, the design of the nuclear reactor is one that we've been running for many, many years in nuclear power stations around the world. It's been a relentless focus on cost and it's the first time that's been done -- to take a look at a whole power station design and not just the nuclear island, also the other parts of the power station, and the civil engineering construction and the time from starting it to finishing it. And I think it's the first time an industrial consortium has focused on driving down the cost of electricity to the consumer, and it's arrived just at the right time with escalating concerns about climate change."
The Rolls-Royce consortium includes Assystem, BAM Nuttall, Laing O'Rourke, National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), Atkins, Wood, The Welding Institute (TWI) and Nuclear AMRC. In November, it received a government investment of £18 million ($23.4 million) via the U.K. Research Institute (UKRI) to further the preliminary design for its SMR, which has been underway for four years.
In December 2017, the U.K. revealed its plan to be a leader in the development of SMR technology with the announcement of £56 million ($75.5 million) in research funding over a three-year period. For additional information, see December 14, 2017, article - U.K. Funds Small Nuclear Reactors and Fusion Power. In 2019, the U.K. government committed £220 million (£286 million) for the early development of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), the country's attempt to build the world's first commercial fusion power station. Industrial Info is tracking the most advanced fusion power project--ITER--in France. The world's first commercial-scale fusion power reactor reached the construction halfway point at the end of 2017. The 20 billion-euro ($23.5 billion) Tokamak project is an international collaboration between the European Union (EU), China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the U.S. The reactor will have an initial generating capacity of 500 megawatts, with first plasma scheduled for 2025.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
