Yokogawa to supply Rolls-Royce SMR control systems

The scope of the agreement includes design engineering, validation and qualification, product hardware, building and testing the system, installation and commissioning of the SMR's main control system.

The project will be delivered and supported from Yokogawa's UK office and design facility in Runcorn, Cheshire, alongside work in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. To support the project, Yokogawa has committed to make considerable investments.

"This agreement to provide the power station's 'central nervous system' marks another significant milestone as we accelerate towards delivering the first in a global fleet of Rolls-Royce SMRs," said Ruth Todd, Operations and Supply Chain Director at Rolls-Royce SMR. "Furthermore, securing a world-class supplier is critical, and we're proud that a substantial portion of this work will be carried out in the UK and the Czech Republic - creating jobs, developing skills, and driving growth in the regions where our first plants will be built."

Koji Nakaoka, Executive Vice President & Executive Officer, Energy & Sustainability Business headquarters at Yokogawa Electric Corporation, added: "Yokogawa is proud to join forces with Rolls-Royce SMR on this pioneering initiative to co-innovate solutions that will shape the next generation of nuclear energy. As a proven, low-carbon source of baseload energy, nuclear power plays a vital role in achieving global decarbonisation goals. Backed by decades of expertise and a strong culture of partnership, we will deliver reliable, high-performance control systems to enable the safe, efficient, and sustainable deployment of nuclear power worldwide."

The Rolls-Royce SMR is a 470 MWe design based on a small pressurised water reactor. It will provide consistent baseload generation for at least 60 years. Around 90% of the SMR will be built in factory conditions, limiting on-site activity primarily to assembly of pre-fabricated, pre-tested modules, which significantly reduces project risk and has the potential to drastically shorten build schedules.

Rolls-Royce SMR has been selected as the preferred bidder by Great British Energy - Nuclear to build three units in the UK, and by Czech Republic nuclear operator ČEZ to build up to 3 GW of new capacity.