Rolls-Royce Picks Who Builds the 'Off Switch' for Its Mini Nuclear Reactors

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Rolls-Royce Picks Who Builds the ‘Off Switch’ for Its Mini Nuclear Reactors

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Rolls-Royce SMR has chosen Czech engineering firm Škoda JS to design and supply the control rod drive mechanisms for its 470 MW small modular reactor, the hardware that regulates reactor power and enables rapid shutdown. Škoda JS will build a prototype and prepare for mass production, with repeat orders worth more than a billion Czech crowns per reactor. The first units are planned for Wylfa in Wales, Sweden’s west coast and Czechia.

Rolls-Royce has picked who builds the part that controls its new nuclear reactors, and shuts them down fast.

Czech firm Škoda JS will design and supply the control rod drive mechanisms for the 470-megawatt Rolls-Royce SMR.

So what do they do?

Control rods soak up neutrons. Push them into the core and the chain reaction slows. Pull them out and power rises.

The drives move those rods. Each one is an electromechanical linear motor, almost eight metres long and weighing 450 kilograms.

They regulate the reactor’s power day to day, and make a rapid shutdown possible when needed.

Škoda JS builds a prototype first, then gears up for mass production. The deal also sets out terms to supply every Rolls-Royce SMR worldwide.

Škoda JS belongs to Czech utility ČEZ, which owns 20 percent of Rolls-Royce SMR.

The plan so far: three units at Wylfa in North Wales, three in Sweden, and up to 3 gigawatts in Czechia, starting at Temelín.

The catch? None of them is built yet. The first UK investment decision is expected in 2029.

2 months ago

Energy

Rolls-Royce Picks Who Builds the 'Off Switch' for Its Mini Nuclear Reactors

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