The UK begins the evaluation process for the Rolls Royce small modular reactor reference design

Reuters reports that the British government has asked its nuclear regulator to begin the design process for Rolls-Royce’s modular nuclear reactor (SMR) variant. A modular reactor with a capacity of 470 MW is set to become the key to the country’s prosperity and complete independence from fossil fuels.

NPP of the future in the artist’s view. Image source: Rolls Royce

Rolls-Royce submitted a regular MMP plan to the Government Commission in mid-November last year. This is the first stage of project evaluation, which usually takes no more than four months. And so it happened. The Commission recently approved the launch of a peer review process for the project by two responsible regulators: the Office of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (ONR) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EA).

ONR quoted Reuters as saying, “The assessment will begin after the necessary steps have been taken in terms of time and resources.” It usually takes 4-5 years to evaluate the typical design for full-size furnaces. For a small furnace, this period may be short, but rarely. Previously, Rolls-Royce and the consortium formed to build small reactors in the UK had assumed that construction of the first units would begin in the 2030s sector.

The main idea behind the use of small reactors is that the cost of the projects will be relatively small: up to $ 2.4 billion for a fifth commercial reactor, after which prices will begin to fall. In addition, most of the nozzles are manufactured centrally in factories and can be transported across the country by conventional vehicles. Due to the relatively small design, the furnaces must be built in 500 days. Ideally, after the rain they start to grow like mushrooms. In particular, the British Federation plans to create 16 blocks after 2030. British officials are also participating.