Rolls-Royce sells stake in SMR business to fund nuclear expansion

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ROLLS-ROYCE has sold a stake of its small modular reactor (SMR) subsidiary to legacy partner ČEZ Group as part of a move to expand the emerging business.

The Czech energy group has secured a 20% stake in Rolls-Royce SMR and plans to work with the company to supply the Czech Republic with 3 GW of nuclear energy.

The deal comes off the back of Rolls Royce’s agreement to be the country’s preferred supplier for the construction and development of SMRs.

Tufan Erginbilgiç, CEO of Rolls-Royce, said: “[This] announcement ensures that the Rolls-Royce SMR business is set up for success in the UK, the Czech Republic and around the world.”

Rolls-Royce SMR power stations are expected to produce 470 MWe of electricity, enough to power a million homes for at least 60 years.

Continued partnership

Rolls-Royce has been working with ČEZ since 2000 and has been supplying nuclear services to the Dukovany power plant in southeast Czech Republic since 2011.

Erginbilgiç added: “We have a shared vision and ČEZ further strengthens our ability to build stable, secure, low carbon power – delivering on our promise as a leading SMR business.”

Rolls-Royce has been looking to sell stakes in its SMR business since early August to secure more funding to develop its technologies, reports the Telegraph.

A £210m (US$270m) investment from UK Research and Innovation is expected to run out in 2025.

Rolls-Royce's AMR future

Rolls-Royce has already progressed to the third and final stage of the UK Generic Design Assessment (GDA), which nuclear reactor providers need to achieve to obtain permission to deploy their technology.

The company aims to supply SMR power to the UK grid by 2030 and is in the initial stages of setting up a prototype SMR manufacturing facility in Sheffield, UK.

ČEZ will support the company’s expansion across Europe, with talks on the deliverance of the first SMR to begin next year.