Rolls-Royce SMR First Factory

Rolls-Royce SMR has announced a list of potential locations for its first factory. This is the first of three factories and will manufacture the ‘heavy vessels’ for its Small Modular Reactor (SMR) power station.

This is the largest and most complex facility; therefore, it is important to take decisions early to enable its deployment. Construction will begin once Rolls-Royce SMR receives the go-ahead to build a fleet of SMRs in the UK.

The shortlist was selected against a clear set of criteria, picked from over 100 submissions from Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and development agencies – suggesting sites across the UK where the Rolls-Royce SMR factories could be located.

The locations of the final shortlisted sites are: North East, Richmond in North Yorkshire, Deeside in Wales, Ferrybridge in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Carlisle.

“I would like to thank everyone who sent in a submission suggesting locations in their region for the first Rolls-Royce SMR factory. The response was fantastic and shows the ambition and appetite of the UK to build and operate a fleet of SMRs which will provide affordable, low-carbon electricity for generations to come. The final location will come from the shortlist and will result in significant investment, long-term high-skilled jobs and will support the UK Government’s aspirations for levelling-up. Today’s announcement is another example of the pace of our project and why Rolls-Royce SMR is the UK’s domestic nuclear energy champion,” Rolls-Royce SMR Chief Executive, Tom Samson, said.

Rolls-Royce SMR’s approach is a completely different way of building nuclear power stations, where 90% of the Rolls-Royce SMR built in factory conditions significantly reducing the timescales and project risk.

The other two factories will manufacture civils modules and mechanical electrical and plumbing (MEP) modules – which will be transported to sites and assembled into a nuclear power station that will generate 470MW of low-carbon electricity. These locations will be selected from the full list of submissions – giving all locations further opportunities to host a Rolls-Royce SMR factory.

“This is fantastic news for Sunderland, North Yorkshire, Deeside, Lincolnshire and Carlisle which, if these SMRs go ahead, could be at the forefront of manufacturing components for this British-made tech. Backed by £210m, SMRs have the potential to provide quicker and cheaper low-carbon nuclear power, and today’s announcement underlines the potential for new jobs around the country created by embracing this new technology,” Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, noted.

Shortlisted sites:

• North East – IAMP Sunderland
• Forrest Park Newton Aycliffe
• North Yorkshire – Catterick 53, Richmond
• Wales – Gateway, Deeside
• Yorkshire – Ferrybridge
• Greater Lincolnshire – Grimsby & Pioneer Park, Stallingborough
• Cumbria – Kingmoor Park, Carlisle

“It is really welcome news that Kingmoor Park in Carlisle has been selected by Rolls Royce SMR as one of the six shortlisted sites for their manufacturing facility. In nominating the site, the LEP recognised the excellent credentials of the site and of Cumbria, more generally, to host the Heavy Pressure Vessel and other manufacturing facilities. Currently, advanced manufacturing makes up 21% of our economy, which is 100% more concentrated than the national average, with much higher productivity levels.

Rolls Royce SMR’s decision confirms Cumbria’s standing as a place that has the natural assets, people, skills and knowledge to get these essential low carbon projects underway at pace. Securing the facility would help move forward Cumbria’s clean energy generation ambitions and create long-term and high-quality jobs and supply chain opportunities. The LEP will work closely with colleagues in Kingmoor Park to present a highly persuasive case to bring the facility to Carlisle,” Jo Lappin, Chief Executive at the Cumbria LEP, said.

“Cumbria has an incredible nuclear legacy and we’re really excited about our region being at the forefront of nuclear innovation. The Rolls Royce SMR team has been actively exploring locations in Cumbria for their first, revolutionary power plant. It’s another positive step that Kingmoor Park in Carlisle is also now in the running to host the factory where the main components for the power stations will be manufactured.

Securing this development would bring investment and more highly skilled jobs to Cumbria, complementing the existing nuclear centre of excellence. It’s further evidence that clean energy generation will be a major part of Cumbria’s economic success in the decades to come. We’ll continue to put forward the best case we can to bring this facility to Carlisle,” Neil McIntyre, Managing Director at Kingmoor Park in Carlisle, mentioned.

 

Facts on the HPV factory

The Factory is expected to be around 23,000 SqM in size – equivalent to 3 football pitches.

The factory has a value to the region of £100-200 million and will create long-term high-skilled jobs.

The site will create 200+ permanent roles.

Rolls-Royce has been a nuclear reactor plant designer since the start of the UK nuclear submarine programme in the 1950s.

Rolls-Royce SMR will draw upon standard nuclear energy technology that has been used in 400 reactors around the world.

The Rolls-Royce SMR power station will have the capacity to generate 470MW of low carbon energy, equivalent to more than 150 onshore wind turbines and enough to power a million homes. It will provide consistent baseload generation for at least 60 years, helping to support the roll out of renewable generation and overcome intermittency issues.