Rolls Royce pledge to create 6,000 jobs in UK with 16 mini-nuclear plants

Rolls Royce has pledged to create 6,000 jobs in the United Kingdom as part of plans to build 16 mini-nuclear plants. The company has formed a consortium, which includes the National Nuclear Laboratory and building company Laing O’Rourke, to build flat-packed nuclear plants known as 'small modular reactors' (SMRs).

The government is preparing to commit £200 million to the consortium as part of its forthcoming green economic recovery spending plan, according to a BBC report. Last year the government also gave the group £18 million to design the SMRs. 

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Plants essential to meet UK's net-zero emissions

The government further said that the new nuclear plants are essential for the UK is to meet its target of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The plants will also revitalise the country’s regional industrial base and position the UK to secure exports of at least £250 billion. Six of the UK's seven nuclear reactor sites are due to go offline by 2030 and the remaining one, Sizewell B, is due to be decommissioned in 2035 and together they account for around 20 percent of the country's electricity, the report said.

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Furthermore, the engineering giant said that up to 80 percent of the power station components would be made in factories in the Midlands and North of England, before being transported to existing nuclear sites around the country for rapid assembly inside weatherproof canopies. The company further said 34,000 long-term jobs will be created in the mid-2030s, which will include mostly high-value manufacturing roles. The power stations will also provide low carbon energy to produce net-zero synthetic aviation fuels and hydrogen, supporting the UK Government’s Jet Zero ambition and the wider decarbonisation of transport.

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(Image- Rolla Royce)