Rolls-Royce isn’t just making engines anymore. Here’s why the company’s nuclear ambitions could power the UK for 60 years
Great British Energy – Nuclear has signed a contract with Rolls-Royce SMR to advance the UK’s first small modular reactors (SMRs). Announced on Monday (13 April), the deal marks a pivotal shift for the iconic British engineering firm, best known for aerospace engines, into nuclear power generation.
The contract, supported by £2.6 billion allocated in the 2025 Spending Review and up to £599 million from the National Wealth Fund, formally kicks off technology design activities.
It builds on Rolls-Royce SMR’s selection as the preferred technology partner in June 2025. The partnership aims to deliver the UK’s initial three SMR units, with work now focusing on site-specific design, regulatory engagement, and planning ahead of a future final investment decision.
A factory-built revolution in nuclear power
Rolls-Royce SMR’s technology represents a new generation of nuclear as compact, standardised, pressurised water reactors designed for factory production.
Each unit is rated at around 470 MWe (with the three-unit project delivering at least 1.4 GWe total). Components will be built off-site in a modular fashion, then assembled on location.
This approach is intended to reduce construction risks, shorten timelines, minimise on-site disruption, and improve cost certainty compared to traditional large-scale nuclear projects.
The three units are expected to supply enough stable, low-carbon electricity to power the equivalent of around three million homes for more than 60 years. The first power is targeted for the mid-2030s, with the reactors sited initially at Wylfa in North Wales.
“This contract unlocks the delivery of our first three units and brings certainty to the UK SMR programme,” said Chris Cholerton, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce SMR. “We are transforming the way nuclear projects are delivered, to give greater cost and schedule certainty with a standardised, factory-built approach.”
Energy security, jobs, and economic growth
UK officials framed the deal as critical for national energy independence amid global instability.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the partnership was a major milestone for Britain’s energy security, noting it backs a British company to create “a generation of good jobs, driving growth and providing clean, homegrown power for decades to come.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves added that the investment, alongside National Wealth Fund financing, would “strengthen our energy security, create skilled jobs and help to build a new generation of homegrown nuclear technology that will power our economy for decades to come.”
The project is projected to support around 3,000 jobs at peak construction, plus thousands more across the UK supply chain. GBE-N has already awarded over £350 million in related supply chain contracts.
