Rolls-Royce SMR presses home advantage as it moves into final step of UK regulatory assessment.

Rolls-Royce SMR has successfully completed Step 2 of the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) by the UK nuclear industry’s independent regulators – the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales – and will move immediately into the third and final Step.

The GDA process assesses new nuclear power plant designs for deployment in the UK, demonstrating they can be built, operated and decommissioned in accordance with the highest standards of safety, security, safeguards and environmental protection.

Today’s announcement confirms Rolls-Royce SMR’s position ahead of any other Small Modular Reactor (SMR) in Europe. Rolls-Royce SMR will further exploit this significant advantage by moving immediately to Step 3 ‘detailed assessment’.

Helena Perry, Rolls-Royce SMR’s Safety and Regulatory Affairs Director, said: “The completion of Step 2 of the GDA is the most important milestone to date in advancing deployment of Rolls-Royce SMRs in the UK.
“We have built fantastic momentum, and the team will move directly into Step 3 of this rigorous independent assessment of our technology – ideally positioning us to deliver low-carbon nuclear power and support the UK transition to net zero.”

Rolls-Royce SMR will be the first new nuclear power station to be designed and built in the UK for more than a generation and offers a radically different approach, delivering new nuclear power based on proven technology. Each ‘factory-built’ nuclear power station will provide enough affordable, low-carbon electricity to power a million homes for more than 60 years.

Rolls-Royce SMR is currently engaged in the Great British Nuclear SMR technology selection process. A successful outcome from that selection process, this year, will create and sustain thousands of high-skilled, long-term jobs and unlock enormous export potential.

Rolls-Royce SMR has received UK Government funding of £210m as part of Phase 2 of the Low-Cost Nuclear Challenge Project, administered by UKRI, which has been supplemented by £280m of private capital. The aim of this Government support is to accelerate the Rolls-Royce SMR design and pass at least Step 2 of the GDA (Generic Design Assessment) regulatory process carried out by the nuclear industry’s independent regulators (The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales).