https://www.reuters.com/business/britain-start-approval-process-rolls-royce-mini-nuclear-reactor-2022-03-07/

 
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March 7, 20222:17 PM UTCLast Updated ago

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    Business

Britain to start approval process for Rolls-Royce mini nuclear
reactor

By Susanna Twidale

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2 minute read
A Rolls-Royce logo is seen at the company's aerospace engineering and
development site in Bristol

A Rolls-Royce logo is seen at the company's aerospace engineering and
development site in Bristol, Britain, December 17, 2015. REUTERS/Toby
Melville

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LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - The British government has asked its
nuclear regulator to start the process for approving Rolls-Royce's
(RR.L) planned small- scale modular nuclear reactor, which
policymakers hope will help cut dependence on fossil fuels and lower
carbon emissions.

Britain last year backed a $546 million funding round at the company
to develop the country's first small modular nuclear reactor (SMR),
part of its drive to reach net zero carbon emissions and promote new
technology with export potential. read more .

Energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng has also said new nuclear projects
will play an important part in Britain's efforts to reduce its
reliance on expensive gas, which hit fresh record high prices on
Monday amid the crisis in Ukraine.

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SMRs can be made in factories, with parts small enough to be
transported on trucks and barges and assembled more quickly and
cheaply than large-scale reactors.

Each mini plant can power around one million homes and Rolls-Royce
has forecast the SMR business could create up to 40,000 jobs based on
British and export demand.

Britain's Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said it had been asked
to begin a Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd's
470 megawatt SMR design.

"The assessment will begin once the necessary arrangements around
timescales and resources have been put in place," the ONR said in a
statement.

A GDA is the formal process for approving a new nuclear reactor. This
is the first time a small scale reactor has been assessed by
regulator.

The process typically takes around 4-5 years for large scale reactor
designs.

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Reporting by Susanna Twidale Editing by Mark Potter

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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