Rolls-Royce welcomes UK-Czech nuclear partnership

Rolls-Royce has welcomed the signing of an agreement between the UK and Czech Republic on bilateral cooperation in civil nuclear energy.

Earlier this month, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic, along with representatives of Czech industry, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding and show the countries ambition to deploy Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as part of their shared commitment to net zero and energy security.

This represents a deepening of relations between the two countries on civil nuclear power and reinforces Rolls-Royce SMR’s position as Europe’s leading SMR technology.

Chris Cholerton, chief executive of Rolls-Royce SMR, said: “Political co-operation is a cornerstone of the civil nuclear industry and the meeting between the UK and Czech prime ministers highlights the significant partnership that has been secured between Rolls-Royce SMR and Czech state utility, ČEZ.

“We welcome the desire from both governments to accelerate the development of SMR technology and will work with them to optimise opportunities for supply chain localisation.”

In October, Rolls-Royce SMR was selected by CEZ to deploy up to 3GW of electricity in the Czech Republic and in July, Rolls-Royce SMR was selected as preferred bidder by Great British Energy – Nuclear to provide the UK’s first SMRs.