Rolls-Royce announced in interview the BBC Today that the company plans to produce and install a mini-nuclear power plant by 2029. New reactors will be so small that in theory each city could have its own nuclear power plant, well protected from terrorist attacks.
Mini nuclear plants can be mass-manufactured and delivered in parts in a truck that makes their construction costs more predictable.
Rolls-Royce heads the consortium for the creation of small modular reactors (SMR) and their installation on the former nuclear facilities in Cumbria or in Wales. Ultimately, the company believes that before the end of the decade will build 10 to 15 nuclear power plants in the UK.
"the Trick is to get a modular design, in which we use advanced methods of digital welding and robotic Assembly, the details of which are delivered to the place and bolted," says Paul Stein, technical Director of Rolls-Royce.
He said that this approach will significantly reduce the cost of construction of nuclear power plants that will lead to cheaper electricity.
the environmentalists for nuclear power are divided. One part believes that nuclear energy is a danger to humanity, others say that for achieving carbon neutrality requires the use of all available technology.
In the last few years a major nuclear projects in the UK was abandoned because the Japanese companies Toshiba and Hitachi exited the project because they were unable to obtain the necessary financing.
