Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) results came out alongside news that the decommissioned Wylfa nuclear plant on Anglesey in North Wales has been selected as the site for the UK’s first small modular reactor nuclear power station, using the company's SMR technology.
The site will see three small modular reactors, each capable of producing 470 megawatts of power and combining to deliver power for the equivalent of around 3 million homes, constructed for the nuclear arm of the publicly-owned Great British Energy.
Rolls-Royce SMR has developed its modular format using existing technology that the group provides for nuclear-powered submarines.
Final commercial terms are still to be agreed, with the government investing over £2.5 billion in the Anglesey project.
A small diplomatic row with the US also erupted, with criticism from the Trump administration, which had lobbied for US-based Westinghouse Electric Company to be selected to provide the tech.
US ambassador Warren Stephens said Washington was “extremely disappointed” and urged Britain to “choose a different path”, arguing that American technology would be cheaper and faster to deploy.
A UK government source told the Guardian that: “This is the right choice for Britain. This is our flagship SMR programme, producing homegrown clean power with a British company and we have chosen the best site for it.”
Interim results from Rolls saw full-year guidance reiterated, expecting underlying operating profit of £3.1-3.2 billlion.
In the commercial engines arm, engine flying hours rose to 109% of pre-pandemic levels, while the power systems division delivered strong order intake, fuelled by rising demand for data centre power solutions.