ABB has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rolls-Royce SMR, a nuclear power company developing small modular reactor (SMR) technology designed to reduce project risk, increase delivery certainty and provide low-carbon electricity quickly and affordably across global markets.
Within the scope of the MoU the two companies will explore collaboration opportunities on Rolls-Royce SMR’s plans to develop a fleet of units, each of which will generate 470 MW of low-carbon electricity and be capable of powering one million UK homes for 60 years. ABB will explore how its automation, electrification, instrumentation and communication solutions across its three business areas can enable the SMR projects to scale.
Rolls-Royce SMR has begun site-specific design and delivery activities for the UK’s first SMRs, initially comprising three units in North Wales, which will create thousands of jobs and boost local-for-local supply chains.
The company is also working with ČEZ to deploy Rolls-Royce SMRs at Temelín – with potential for additional units at Tušimice and Dětmarovice – and has recently been selected by Videberg Kraft to deliver three SMRs on Sweden’s Värö Peninsula.
The MoU collaboration will be developed through ABB’s UK operations, which are headquartered in Warrington. ABB has around 110,000 employees worldwide, including at locations in Sweden and the Czech Republic.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), SMRs can be a catalyst for change if boosted by government support and new business models. With current policy settings, the IEA forecasts that total SMR capacity will reach 40 GW by 2050 – but with tailored policy support for nuclear power, streamlined regulations for SMRs and industry delivery on new designs, capacity could reach 120 GW.
At the heart of each Rolls-Royce SMR is a pressurized water reactor (PWR) using technology that is already operating within hundreds of nuclear reactors worldwide. The Rolls-Royce SMR’s PWR is a symmetrically arranged, three-loop, close coupled reactor. The plant design provides multiple layers of safety, redundancy and back-up systems, meeting the highest standards of safety, security and safeguards.
Featured photograph (source: ABB) is for representation only