Billionaire to invest £35bn in small modular nuclear reactors across UK

A consortium led by the billionaire industrialist Michał Sołowow has announced plans to build 14 small modular nuclear reactors on three sites across the UK.

The Polish entrepreneur and rally enthusiast plans to use £35bn of private capital to roll out enough small modular reactors (SMRs) to power the equivalent of 8m UK homes for more than 60 years, or even power datacentre investments alongside partner Google.

Visualisation of nuclear small modular reactors planned by developer SGE. Image: SGE

Sołowow’s nuclear development company, SGE, plans to make the “significant investment” of between £2.2bn to £2.5bn in each 300 megawatt reactor alongside a string of industrial partners including the US manufacturer GE Vernova and Japanese industrial conglomerate Hitachi, which are responsible for the design and UK’s Laing O’Rourke.

The consortium, known as SGE SMR, hopes to secure three sites for the boiling water reactors (BWRs) by this time next year as well as a government support contract which would guarantee a “competitive” price for its electricity once it starts generating in 2034.

It has not disclosed which sites it hopes to use for the GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 design, or which energy company would be the operator.

Michał Sołowow

Sołowow said the government’s framework, which aims to fast-track the rollout of nuclear technologies, had created “a clear path to market” in the “home to one of the world’s most experienced nuclear workforces”.

“Because of this, I am confident we will set a new standard for nuclear development by combining our disruptive business model with the BWRX-300’s 10th-generation proven technology. We will rely strongly on the UK supply chain; it is a critical element for our project. Our project will create a distinct competitive advantage for the UK economy,” he said.

SGE’s plans will put it in competition with Rolls-Royce to be the first to roll out SMEs in the UK, after the British engineering company won a government competition earlier this year to allow it to start generating power by 2032 at the earliest.

SGE’s joint venture agreement includes Google Cloud, which Sołowow hopes will also partner on investing up to £4.5bn in datacentres to make use of the nuclear output.

The move is seen as a response to the UK government’s encouragement to  tech companies to build SMRs to power energy-intensive AI datacentres across Britain.

The consortium hopes to secure a similar deal to the contract offered to the Hinkley Point C nuclear project.

It has opted for the contracts for difference scheme, which pays a fixed rate from energy bills once the project begins generating electricity, rather than the controversial model used to fund the Sizewell C project.

Under that scheme the developer is paid during the construction phase, meaning billpayers risk bigger costs if there are delays.

John O’Connor

Laing O’Rourke said it would draw on its experience in nuclear projects as well as pioneering industrialised construction methods for the development of reactors.

Group commercial director John O’Connor said:

“We are applying lessons learned from the use of advanced manufacturing in the construction of large-scale and other complex infrastructure to boost safety and certainty for our partners and clients.”

Tom Greatrex

Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the nuclear industry association, said:

“SGE’s SMR plans showed the government’s nuclear framework has really revived and spurred interest in privately led nuclear projects”.