FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Siemens Energy said on Friday it has entered a partnership that is expected to make the German group the exclusive supplier of conventional technology for future small modular nuclear reactors (SMR) to be built by Rolls-Royce SMR.
Under the agreement, to be finalised by end-2025, Siemens Energy would supply steam turbines, generators and “other auxiliary systems” for Rolls-Royce SMR’s planned Generation 3+ modular nuclear power plants, it said.
“This partnership will unlock UK jobs and a range of manufacturing opportunities and further cements our position as Europe’s leading SMR technology,” Rolls-Royce SMR CEO Chris Cholerton said.
So-called SMRs are being developed by global nuclear energy suppliers to produce power plant technology that is easily replicable, faster and cheaper to deploy than traditional large-scale plants.
“We are currently experiencing a global renaissance of nuclear energy,” Siemens Energy board member Karim Amin said.
“Numerous countries are turning to nuclear technology to produce low-emission electricity, and small modular reactors will play a key role in this.”
Rolls-Royce SMR – which is majority owned by Rolls-Royce while Qatar, Constellation Energy and investor BNF Resources hold minority stakes – is one of the companies shortlisted by Britain to develop SMRs.
Electricity producer CEZ said in October it would take a minority stake in Rolls-Royce SMR, whose reactors can achieve output of up to 470 megawatts, enough to power around 1.1 million households.
Rolls-Royce SMR has been selected to deliver SMR units in the Czech Republic and short-listed for potential projects in Britain and Sweden, it said.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, editing by Rachel More and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
