Delays to the rollout of mini-nuclear reactors in the aftermath of the general election threaten to destroy Britain’s “first mover advantage” in the promising market, the boss of Rolls-Royce has warned.
Tufan Erginbilgic said it was vital that the selection of small nuclear reactor (SMR) designs for state support continued on schedule following a string of previous setbacks.
Mr Erginbilgic told The Telegraph: “I have always said we need to go fast.
“The process is already delayed, as you know. So it is important that the election doesn’t delay that further.
“And when they choose whoever they choose, there should be funding and tangible projects as part of that so that we can go into the execution phase and make progress rather than have another holding pattern.”
He also called for funding to be awarded quickly and for “tangible” progress to be made on choosing sites for the first prototypes. Labour has signalled its support for SMRs but it is not clear whether the party will prioritise their deployment immediately if it comes to power.
SMRs are promoted as potentially revolutionary for the nuclear industry and decarbonisation of the electricity grid. Their modular designs allow them to be built in factories and then assembled on site more quickly and cheaply than bigger reactors.
However, none are yet in service and they are yet to be tested, with several companies racing to become the first to commercialise the technology.
Rolls executives have previously warned that the company’s SMR business is set to run out of cash at the end of this year and Mr Erginbilgic has warned that a failure by the Government to move quickly could see Britain lose a “first mover advantage”.
The engineer is in talks with several foreign governments about potential SMR purchases but the company has repeatedly warned that it will struggle to sell them abroad if the technology has not already been backed by the British state.
He added: “First mover advantage on a new technology is very important. Why? Because if you are the first one going into execution, you will build the supply chain, you will enable the supply chain.
“The UK has that opportunity, and that means lots of jobs and lots of export opportunities.
“Because the minute we do that, in the UK, I can assure you, given the conversations we are having, I can get six, seven European countries coming on board with more projects and a couple of Middle Eastern countries.”