Four sites have been shortlisted for SMR production facility
The British arm of American nuclear firm Holtec has shortlisted four sites for the development of a £1.3bn factory to manufacture small modular reactors.
In 2022, Holtec teamed up with Balfour Beatty on plans to build its next-generation mini nuclear power stations int he UK and last December it announced it had been given a £30m grant by the UK government to develop its SMR-300 reactor.
Now the business has announced that sites in Cumbria, South Yorkshire, the West Midlands and Tees Valley have been shortlisted from 14 candidates for a production facility.
It is expected that two to four reactors will be built each year in a factory at the winning site, which will be announced in autumn.
The reactors will be distributed within the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
The site will set out to deliver two to four reactors every year, with eaching holding a value of £1bn to £2bn.
>> Read more: US nuclear firm handed £30m government grant to develop reactor technology
Ben Houchen, the Tees Valley mayor said: “I’m confident we can convince Holtec we’re the premium site given our deep knowledge base in engineering, our great transport links via the Tees, and huge potential we have at our Freeport.”
“The potential for another 400 highly skilled well-paid jobs for local people is another huge boost.”
The current UK government’s ambition is for up to a quarter of all UK electricity to come from nuclear power by 2050, with small modular reactors consituting a significant element of that vision.
Holtec was among six companies, including Rolls Royce, shortlisted in a government competition for SMR designs.
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