LONDON: UK aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce launched plans Tuesday to build small low-cost nuclear reactors, backed with private and public cash, to help reduce the country’s carbon emissions.
Rolls-Royce has created a new Small Modular Reactor (SMR) division after clinching a cash injection of £405 million ($547 million, 473 million euros), it said in a statement.
SMR reactors are far cheaper to build than large-scale nuclear plants because the vast majority of manufacturing and assembly is done in a factory, before transporting to the site.
“Today’s announcement is another step towards the delivery of the government’s net zero strategy,” Rolls added. The British government, which is currently hosting the UN climate change summit in Glasgow, aims to reach net zero carbon by 2050 with the help of nuclear.
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The London-listed engineering giant hopes that the new business could create up to 40,000 jobs by 2050.
Rolls-Royce, BNF Resources and Exelon Generation will together invest £195 million over three years alongside a £210-million state grant, the group added in a statement.
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