The three sites from which Rolls-Royce small modular reactor (SMR) will select the location of its first factory have been announced. The heavy pressure vessels (HPV) factory will produce components for a fleet of small modular reactors (SMR) designed and built in the UK.

Sunderland and South Tyneside, Teesside and Deeside are the three locations, and in the running for the chance to be site that will be chosen early next year to manufacture and assemble some of the largest and most complex components of the Rolls-Royce SMR power station. To ensure commercial processes move in parallel, negotiations will be initiated when Rolls-Royce SMR has entered formal discussions on deployment with the Government.

Rolls-Royce SMR chief executive, Tom Samson, said: “This is part of the process to build the first of at least three factories that will manufacture components for a fleet of small modular reactors and will present an incredible opportunity for a region of the UK. Our power stations will be built in British factories situated in the north of England or Wales and will generate tens of thousands of long-term highly skilled jobs - accelerating regional economic growth.”

A fleet of Rolls-Royce SMR power stations will increase the UK’s energy security and support net-zero targets by generating low-carbon electricity from a sustainable source for generations to come. 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.

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