Rolls-Royce SMR will manufacture and test prototype modules for its small modular reactors (SMRs) at a new facility being set up at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).
The £multi-million Module Development Facility, housed within the AMRC’s flagship Factory 2050 building in Sheffield, will produce working prototypes of the individual modules that will be assembled into Rolls-Royce SMR power plants.
The first phase, announced today, is worth £2.7 million and will be part of a wider £15+ million package of work that will further de-risk and underpin the Rolls-Royce SMR programme. The modular approach is unique within the nuclear industry but is widely used and well proven across the oil and gas and renewables sectors.
Victoria Scott, Rolls-Royce SMR’s Chief Manufacturing Engineer, said: “Our investment in setting up this facility and building prototype modules is another significant milestone for our business.
“Our factories will produce hundreds of prefabricated and pre-tested modules ready for assembly on site. This facility will allow us to refine our production, testing and digital approach to manufacturing – helping de-risk our programme and ensure we increase our delivery certainty.”
Professor Harry Burroughes, head of Factory 2050 and professor of integrated manufacturing at the University of Sheffield AMRC, said: “Everyone within the AMRC is very proud and excited to be involved in this crucial next step with Rolls-Royce.
“Within the integrated manufacturing group, we have been research partners with Rolls-Royce SMR on modular builds since 2017, and this latest unique opportunity allows us to scale-up this fundamental research to full-scale products and processes.
“The new opportunity is a brilliant way to showcase how innovation can have a real-world manufacturing impact.”
The Rolls-Royce SMR is UK’s first home-grown nuclear technology for over a generation and today’s announcement is another vital step towards deploying a fleet of ‘factory-built’ nuclear power plants in the UK and around the globe.
Rolls-Royce SMR offers a radically different approach to delivering new nuclear power based on proven technology. Each of the factory-built nuclear power stations will provide enough low-carbon electricity to power a million homes for more than 60 years.
Professor Koen Lamberts, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, said: “We are very proud that Rolls-Royce SMR has chosen to base its Module Development Facility at our Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s Factory 2050.
“Today’s announcement is a testament to the University’s strengths in clean energy research and innovation, and our unrivalled expertise in developing leading-edge manufacturing techniques. We welcome this significant commitment from Rolls-Royce SMR to our ongoing partnership and the South Yorkshire region.”
