Two of the four finalists in the UK’s small modular reactor (SMR) competition, organised by Great British Nuclear (GBN) – Rolls-Royce SMR and GE Hitachi (GEH) – have officially submitted their final tenders. The other two finalists are Westinghouse Electric and Holtec International. The finalists were selected from a shortlist of six, the other two being France’s EDF and US NuScale.
EDF withdrew its Nuward SMR design in July 2024 after EDF decided to focus on existing technologies for the design of its SMRs instead of continuing with the innovative Nuward design. In October 2024, NuScale was dropped from the list of finalists. In November 2023 NuScale faced problems when its $1.4bn project to build a plant for a Utah power provider was cancelled amid spiralling costs. However, a spokesman for NuScale said the company had been told it did not meet the criteria for the SMR competition as it had already begun production of its reactors and did not need support getting to market.
In February, the four finalists received an Invitation to Submit Final Tender (ISFT). GEH (part of GE Vernova) proposed its BWRX-300 boiling water reactor; Holtec proposed its SMR-300 – a 300 MWe pressurised water reactor (PWR); the Rolls-Royce SMR is a 470 MWe PWR; and the Westinghouse AP300 is a 300 MWe/900 MWt PWR.
GBN, which intends to select one or two of the technologies for support to deploy multiple units at a site. GBN owns land for potential new nuclear at Wylfa in Anglesey in North Wales, and at Oldbury in Gloucestershire in southwest England, but other sites could also be chosen.
GBN originally expected the final decision would be taken by the summer 2024 and then postponed it to the end of 2024. The latest UK Budget then deferred the decision until Spring 2025. HM Treasury has now said that the announcement of the winning technology or technologies will be around the conclusion of the Spending Review in June.
GBN said all four designs were subject to robust analysis. Each technology was evaluated, including aspects such as safety, deliverability, and their ability to support development of a fleet of SMRs. GBN considers the designs, each of which is proceeding through the UK’s regulatory process, are viable options for development.
Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce SMR CEO, said: “I am grateful for the dedication and teamwork of everyone at Rolls-Royce SMR who has contributed to our submission. We have a world-class team behind a market-leading product, and I am confident we have provided a compelling offer to GBN, to partner with them in delivering the next generation of nuclear power for the UK.”
Rolls-Royce SMR has already been selected in the Czech Republic, by the leading European utility CEZ, to deliver up to 3 GW of electricity and has been shortlisted by Vattenfall in its competition to select a nuclear technology for deployment in Sweden.
Maví Zingoni, CEO, GE Vernova’s Power businesses, said: “We are pleased to submit our final proposal and are excited by the opportunity this milestone brings to the UK energy market.” Andy Champ, GEH UK Country Leader said the UK Government “has a unique opportunity to position the UK at the forefront of delivering the next generation of nuclear power and this submission marks a significant step forward in achieving this goal”.
GEH and Ontario Power Generation (OPG) are developing the first BWRX-300 at OPG’s Darlington site near Toronto. Early site preparation work has been completed. OPG has received a licence to construct the first unit from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and awaits the go-ahead from the provincial government to proceed with construction.
“Moving forward with two projects will help to establish an innovative new nuclear sector here in the UK, driving socio-economic growth up and down the country, creating jobs and unlocking greater opportunities to bolster the UK supply chain,” noted Zingoni.
GEH recently signed a series of memorandums with major UK firms Boccard and Cavendish Nuclear as well as Aecon, Amentum, AtkinsRéalis and Laing O’Rourke. These agreements build on GEH’s SMR supply chain conference held in Sheffield last year, which was attended by over 150 UK businesses.
Separately, in January 2024 GEH received a £33.6 million Future Nuclear Enabling Fund (FNEF) grant from the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ). In conjunction with the awarding of this grant, GEH entered the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process for the BWRX-300.
