Britain’s nuclear regulators have approved early designs for small modular reactors (SMRs) developed by Rolls-Royce SMR as a first step towards significant expansion of the UK’s nuclear power capabilities.

The firm is offering a different approach to delivering new nuclear power that is easier to scale and more affordable than building larger nuclear power plants.

It’s an approach that aims to deliver an entirely factory-built nuclear power plant that would be transported as modules and assembled on-site, radically reducing construction activity and making the SMRs a commodifiable product.

The previous government had an ambition to increase nuclear capacity in the UK from around 6GW to up to 24GW by 2050, as set out in the 2022 British energy security strategy.

The SMRs designed by Rolls-Royce will only provide around 470MWe of energy, but are significantly cheaper than major plants like the upcoming Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C.

The Environment Agency, Office for Nuclear Regulation and...