Labour’s flagship National Wealth Fund will provide £599m to support Rolls-Royce’s development of the UK’s first small modular reactors (SMRs) at Wylfa on the island of Anglesey, Wales.
Concept CGI of an SMR. Credit: Rolls-Royce SMR
The three-unit project will generate at least 1.4GWe, supplying enough electricity to power the equivalent of around three million homes for more than 60 years.
State-owned Great British Energy-Nuclear (GBE-N) bought the site from Japanese conglomerate Hitachi in 2024 and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer last year set out ambitions to usher in a nuclear power “golden age”.
Wylfa generated nuclear power from 1971 until 2015, when it shut down. Hitachi acquired the site with plans for a new nuclear power station, but abandoned the project in 2020 after failing to reach a funding agreement with the government.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “This investment, along with vital financing from the National Wealth Fund, will strengthen our energy security, create skilled jobs and help to build a new generation of homegrown nuclear technology that will power our economy for decades to come.
“We have the right economic plan, one where growth and clean energy go hand in hand, and one that will benefit everyone across the country.”
Energy secretary Ed Miliband added: “At a time of global instability, this is a major milestone for Britain’s energy security. Our clean energy mission is the only route to getting off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels and taking back control of our energy independence.”
SMRs produce nuclear power using modular, factory‑built components, shortening construction timelines and driving down costs. Their small size allows for deployment in smaller grids or remote areas where large reactors are not feasible.
Chris Cholerton, chief executive of Rolls-Royce SMR, said: “We are transforming the way nuclear projects are delivered, to give greater cost and schedule certainty with a standardised, factory-built approach.
“This project is important to the UK’s energy security and will power up our business and the UK supply chain, and we are excited by the opportunity and are focused on successful delivery.”
Last year, EDF announced early-stage plans to build data centres powered by SMRs at the former Cottam coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire.
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