Rolls-Royce SMR nuclear power station designGreat British Nuclear (GBN) has entered the final stage of the UK’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) selection process and is on track to make final decisions in the spring. An ‘Invitation to Submit Final Tender’ (ISFT) has been issued to the four remaining vendors still in the process — GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy International LLC, Holtec Britain Ltd, Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd, and Westinghouse Electric Company UK Ltd.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Kier Starmer pledged to put Britain back in the global race for nuclear energy, and to reform planning rules to make it easier to build fleets of SMRs in England and Wales. SMRs are smaller than traditional nuclear power plants and their modular construction could provide a way of delivering nuclear more quickly and cost-effectively. They could also be built in a greater variety of locations, and be co-located with energy-intensive industrial sites such as AI data centres.
GBN’s Chair, Simon Bowen, said: “This is an exciting moment for Great British Nuclear and the UK as we reach the final stage of the technology selection process for the Small Modular Reactor programme. Nuclear energy is vital for economic growth and delivering secure, reliable, home-generated power that is capable of meeting future demand, enabling ‘net zero’, and reducing the UK’s dependence on importing fossil fuels. Since GBN was launched in 2023, the team has made huge strides in delivering a fair, robust, and transparent process for technology selection.”
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, added: “Small modular reactors will support our mission to become a clean energy superpower. That is why we are backing new nuclear technology to help secure our energy independence and grow the economy.”