Rolls-Royce could get the regulatory go-ahead for a new generation of mini-nuclear power stations as early as 2024.
Paul Stein, chairman of Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactors, told Reuters its design for a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) could then go on to produce power for the national grid by 2029.
Rolls-Royce, which is headquartered in Derby and has a big operation in Filton, South Gloucestershire, hopes the SMR subsidiary will play a big part of the UK’s Net Zero agenda.
It says a single mini power station could be around a tenth of the size of a conventional nuclear plant, and generate enough power for around one million homes.
Boris Johnson has been pushing for efforts to get new nuclear power – from large plants to small modular reactors – up and running more quickly and cheaply to provide low-carbon, constant power to the grid, securing supplies and bringing down bills.
But progress to replace Britain’s ageing fleet of reactors has been slow, with high upfront costs of construction and difficulty attracting investment.
Just one new plant, Hinkley Point C, is under construction, with the start of electricity generation expected in June 2026.
Rolls-Royce has said its SMR plans could create 40,000 UK jobs when fully operational and generate £52 billion in economic benefit.
At the end of last year the engineering giant announced it had agreed much of the funding to develop the low cost, low carbon, reactor.
Speaking to Reuters, Mr Stein said the regulatory "process has been kicked off, and will likely be complete in the middle of 2024”.
He said: "We are trying to work with the UK Government, and others to get going now placing orders, so we can get power on grid by 2029."
He said that in the meantime, Rolls-Royce will start manufacturing parts of the design that are most unlikely to change.
Each 470 megawatt (MW) SMR unit costs 1.8 billion pounds ($2.34 billion) and would be built on a 10-acre site, the size of around 10 football fields.
They are based upon established Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) technology in use all over the world, and Rolls-Royce modular approach will see components built in factories and assembled on site.
