A DUBIOUS PROSPECT? Rolls-Royce looks to sell stake in small nuclear reactor business.

I will be following this U.K. story. Similar to here in Canada, the SMR proponents in Europe (in the U.K. the frontrunner is Rolls-Royce) are struggling to find private capital to develop their designs. The big nuclear industry extravaganza in Brussels in March (organized by the IAEA nuclear-boosters) was a flop, with investment bankers telling the SMR companies they lack a business case and need to look for government (taxpayer) dollars.

In Canada, the only SMR design to receive significant government funding is the BWRX-300 project at Darlington, which received $970 million in a “low-interest loan” from the Canada Investment Bank (CIB) shortly after the CIB had its operating scope changed which then allowed it to give money to nuclear companies. Politics. Scam. Anyway, the two designs planned for here in New Brunswick (ARC-100 and Moltex SSR + WATSS) last year said they will each need $500 million to develop their designs, and after six years of looking for it, they have come up with only a fraction of that. To be continued…

By: Guy Taylor, CITY AM, https://www.cityam.com/rolls-royce-looks-to-sell-stake-in-small-nuclear-reactor-business/ 5 Aug 24

Rolls-Royce is preparing to sell off a stake in its mini-nuclear power business as it looks to raise fresh funding.

Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said the firm was in discussion with possible investors, with cash set to run out by early next year, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

One source familiar with discussions told the paper that the FTSE 100 giant was looking to raise hundreds of millions pounds.

Some £280m has already been pumped into the operation by its current backers, which include the Qatar Investment Authority and BNF Resources. A further £210m government grant was also announced by the former Conservative government in November 2021.

The company is being advised by bankers at BNP Paribas and is understood to have received approaches from “across the board,” including infrastructure investors, clean energy funds, hedge funds and other nuclear power companies, the report said.

It comes as Rolls-Royce closes in on winning a government tender, led by Great British Nuclear (GBN), to develop so-called Small Modular Reactors, which are essentially scaled-down versions of nuclear power plants. GBN will pick two designs from a host of competitors including Rolls, GE Hitachi, Holtec Britain, Nuscale and Westinghouse.

Asked about the funding situation, Erginbilgic told The Sunday Telegraph he was “very comfortable”.

“I won’t go into specific deals. But obviously our SMR is an attractive proposition and it’s got a great future and some investors potentially recognise that,” he said.

A spokesman for Rolls-Royce SMR added: “Our first mover advantage, combined with the significant growth in demand for small modular reactors, puts Rolls-Royce SMR in a leading position to capitalise on this global decarbonisation opportunity.

“Naturally, this is attracting investor interest and we continue to consider a range of options to support our future growth.”