Rolls-Royce
Compare Rolls-Royce…Parent of Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd, developer of a 470 MWe PWR small modular reactor design. Won the UK government's SMR competition in Q3 2025.
SectorsNuclear
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Rolls-RoyceParent of Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd, developer of a 470 MWe PWR small modular reactor design. Won the UK government's SMR competition in Q3 2025.
| Milestone | Target Date | Status | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ONR GDA Step 2 (UK regulatory assessment) | Complete 2024 | Achieved | Steps 1 + 2 complete; Step 3 deep technical review underway | |
| ONR GDA Step 3 (deep technical review) | 2026-Q2 | In progress | Target completion mid-2026; major step before design certification | |
| ONR GDA Step 4 (final design certification) | Target 2027 | On schedule | Equivalent of NRC Standard Design Certification | |
| Great British Nuclear SMR competition (down-select) | Oct 2024 | Achieved (selected with GEV BWRX-300) | Beat NuScale + Westinghouse AP300 in down-select | |
| GBN site selection finalized | Target 2025-2026 | Site shortlist published; final selection pending | Candidate sites include Wylfa (Anglesey, Wales) + Trawsfynydd (North Wales) + others | |
| First UK SMR construction permit | Target 2027-2028 | Subject to site selection + funding decision | Final Investment Decision (FID) on first unit target 2028 | |
| UK FOAK first concrete | Target 2029 | Subject to FID + construction permit | Estimated based on UK SMR program statements | |
| UK FOAK first criticality | Target 2032 | Subject to construction schedule | Stated 2032 by UK government + Rolls-Royce SMR | |
| UK FOAK COD | Target 2032-2033 | Subject to construction + fuel load schedule | Consensus estimates 2033-2034 | |
| Subsequent UK SMR fleet (2-12 units) | 2033-2040 stated cadence | Subject to FOAK success + government commitments | UK government stated commitment to 8-12 SMRs total | |
| Czech CEZ partnership | MoU + technical studies | Active partnership; potential 1-4 units if successful | Czech secondary contract beyond Korean APR1000 prime award | |
| Editorial. Why this matters | Strategic context | Rolls-Royce SMR is the marquee UK-led SMR development + the most-de-risked European SMR design. The October 2024 GBN selection validated the UK government's industrial commitment. Marquee question: does Rolls-Royce SMR complete ONR GDA on schedule + reach FOAK COD by 2032-2033, establishing the UK as a structural SMR exporter alongside US (GEV + NuScale) + Korea (KEPCO i-SMR + APR1000)? |