Firms behind a fleet of new mini-nuclear stations that could create 40,000 jobs have received UK Government funding.
UK Research and Innovation will provide initial match funding to the firms designing a new type of nuclear power station in the UK.
Rolls Royce say that by 2050 a full UK programme of up to 16 of these power stations could create up to 40,000 jobs and £52BN of value to the UK economy.
The initial joint investment of £18million from UKRI will be matched by nuclear, civil engineering construction and manufacturing industry firms, who have been working on the preliminary design for four years.
The power station is a compact design, the components for which would be manufactured in sections in regional UK factories, before being transported to existing nuclear sites for rapid assembly inside a weatherproof canopy.
This cuts costs by avoiding weather disruptions and secures gradual efficiency savings by using streamlined and standardised manufacturing processes for its components.
Paul Stein, chief technology officer for Rolls-Royce, which leads the consortium, said: “Tackling climate change requires collaboration across industries and governments to find effective, affordable and sustainable ways of achieving net zero by 2050.
“The consortium’s work with the Government shows that action is being taken to decarbonise our economy and meet our society’s vital and growing power needs. This is a very positive step forward to this next phase of the programme.”
The partners in the consortium are Assystem, BAM Nuttall, Laing O’Rourke, National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), Rolls-Royce, Atkins, Wood, The Welding Institute (TWI) and Nuclear AMRC.
The target cost for each station is £1.8 billion by the time five have been built, with further savings possible. Each power station will be able to operate for 60 years and provide 440MW of electricity, which is enough to power a city the size of Leeds.
