Rolls-Royce, GBE-N contract kickstarts U.K.’s SMR plans for Wylfa site
Ten months after Rolls-Royce SMR emerged as the United Kingdom’s preferred bidder to build the U.K.’s first small modular reactors, the company and the U.K. government’s Great British Energy–Nuclear (GBE-N) have signed a contract allowing work to begin at the site of the decommissioned Wylfa nuclear plant in North Wales.
Both sides have been working on finalizing the contract since Rolls-Royce SMR won the SMR competition. This agreement includes up to £599 million (about $812.5 million) from the U.K.’s National Wealth Fund to support Rolls-Royce's SMR development. Already, £2.6 billion (about $3.5 billion) has been allocated in the 2025 Spending Review to enable this contract and its delivery.
“This is an immense moment for the U.K. nuclear program, our organization, and the industry as a whole,” GBE-N chair Simon Bowen said in a statement. “Today represents a true recognition of the efforts made across GBE-N, Rolls-Royce SMR, and government to get to this point, and I’m hugely proud of the team for reaching this critical milestone.”
The contract requires Rolls-Royce SMR to work with GBE-N on site-specific design, regulatory issues, and planning before a final investment decision is reached. This project will create approximately 3,000 jobs at peak construction at Wylfa and another 5,000 across the U.K. supply chain, according to the announcement.
Background: The agreement opens a new chapter in the history of Wylfa, which has seen its fair share of ups and downs. Two 490-MWe Magnox reactors began commercial operation in November 1971 and January 1972. Unit 2 operated successfully until it was shut down in 2012, with Unit 1 shutting down in 2015. Defueling of the plant was completed in 2019. GBE-N purchased land at two nuclear sites, including Wylfa, in 2024 for £160 million (then about $203 million). Hitachi originally planned to develop the land with advanced boiling water reactors before scrapping those plans in 2019 due to economic constraints.
While no specific dates or timelines have been announced by Rolls-Royce SMR or GBE-N, previous reports have stated that the goal is for the Wylfa SMRs to be supplying power by the mid-2030s.
According to the announcement, the 1.4-GWe, three-reactor project will supply enough electricity to power the equivalent of three million homes for more than 60 years.
“This contract unlocks the delivery of our first three units at Wylfa and is a tangible example of the government’s ‘golden age’ of new nuclear being delivered successfully with British technology," Rolls-Royce SMR CEO Chris Cholerton said in a statement.
“We are transforming the way nuclear projects are delivered, to give greater cost and schedule certainty with a standardized, factory-built approach,” he continued. “This project is important to the U.K.’s energy security and will power up our business and the U.K. supply chain.”
U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband weighed in as well. “At a time of global instability, this is a major milestone for Britain’s energy security. We are backing a British company to deliver our first small modular reactors—creating a generation of good jobs, driving growth, and providing clean, homegrown power for decades to come. Our clean-energy mission is the only route to getting off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels and take back control of our energy independence.”
Additional Rolls-Royce information: Along with the three SMR units in the U.K., Rolls-Royce has plans to deploy up to six units in the Czech Republic.
In a separate announcement on Tuesday, Rolls-Royce SMR said its shareholders supported its December decision to acquire Constellation’s equity interest of less than 5 percent in its SMR business. Constellation is focusing on the U.S. nuclear energy demand, the update said. Shareholders in Rolls-Royce SMR include its parent company, CEZ Group, BNF Resources Ltd., and Qatar Investment Authority.
