Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (LSE:RR.) said it has completed the sale of its nuclear controls business but is expected to put this deal in the shade in the coming days with confirmation that plans for a new type of smaller nuclear reactor have received investor backing.
On Monday the FTSE 100 group said its civil nuclear instrumentation & control (I&C) business is now owned by Framatome, concluding a deal first announced last December and following regulatory clearance.
The proceeds will contribute to management's pandemic target to generate at least £2bn from disposals and will be used to help strengthen its balance sheet as it looks to return to an investment grade credit profile.
There were also reports on Monday that Rolls-Royce could make the announcement as soon as Tuesday on its small-scale nuclear plans.
Downing Street previously said it would provide £210mln in funding if that could be matched by investment from other sources. A consortium of investors has agreed to provide capital, the BBC reported.
Rolls, which makes power systems for aeroplanes, ships and submarines, is thought to have developed a design using four small modular reactors (SMRs), similar to those used in nuclear-powered submarines.
A block of four SMRs would be capable of generating nearly 500 megawatts (MWs) of power.
They will cost around £2bn each, which compares to the £20bn cost of reactors at the Hinkley Point nuclear plant in development in Somerset and another plant planned at Sizewell in Suffolk.