Rolls-Royce reveals fissile construction partner for Raynesway expansion

Rolls-Royce has announced the firm which will build new nuclear manufacturing facilities at its Derby site as part of a major expansion.

International infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has been named as its ‘fissile’ construction partner for the project at its Submarines site in Raynesway.

Last year, Balfour Beatty was announced as the ‘non-fissile’ construction partner for the scheme, which involves doubling the size of Raynesway.

Rolls-Royce said the Balfour Beatty’s latest appointment will “bring consistency across the construction of the whole Raynesway expansion work”.

Having previously announced the fissile design partners as PROPEL, a joint venture between AtkinsRéalis (BH) and Mott MacDonald, this next milestone will see Balfour Beatty work with the partners to bring the design of these new nuclear manufacturing facilities to life.

Terry Meighan, Rolls-Royce Submarines’ infrastructure director, said: “The experience, pedigree and strong commitment to safety displayed by Balfour Beatty during the tender process means we now have a full complement of design and construction partners across the fissile and non-fissile expansion work.

“Working together they will deliver this extensive and critically important programme. This is an important milestone for us, and we are confident we have selected partners with safety, collaboration and delivery excellence at their core.”

Two years ago, Rolls-Royce announced it was planning to double the size of its Submarines site to meet the growth in demand from the Royal Navy.

This is also a key enabler in the company’s commitment to provide all the reactors that will power the future attack submarines as part of the Australia, UK, US trilateral agreement, known as AUKUS.

This increase in demand will see new manufacturing and office facilities being built at Raynesway and will create 1,170 skilled roles across a range of disciplines, including manufacturing and engineering.

Rolls-Royce Submarines currently employs more than 5,000 people and designs, manufactures and provides in-service support to the pressurised water reactors that power every boat in the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet.

The firm is currently supporting the existing Astute and Dreadnought boat build programmes through the delivery of reactor plant and associated components.

It also provides frontline support across the world for reactor plant equipment from its operations centre in Derby and supports the submarines when in the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard and the naval bases at Devonport and Faslane.

In addition, there are technical specialists working in Glasgow, Cardiff, and Thurso.

Mr Meighan added: “The expansion work we have planned is of critical national importance as it enables us to safely increase our speed of manufacture, helping to deliver Dreadnought and the new SSN-AUKUS attack submarines at a much faster rate.”

Nick Crossfield, Balfour Beatty Group sector lead for UK defence, said: “Our appointment to this critical programme is a powerful endorsement of Balfour Beatty’s specialist expertise and proven ability to deliver complex infrastructure within one of the UK’s most secure and regulated environments.

“It further cements our leading role in supporting the UK’s long-term defence capability and is a clear testament to the momentum we’re building across our growth markets.”