Rolls-Royce strikes nuclear deal with Japan
Rolls-Royce strikes nuclear deal with Japan
Matt OliverSun, June 14, 2026 at 5:00 AM UTC
0
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency will build a demonstrator AMR with Rolls-Royce by 2030 - Rolls-Royce
Britain will join forces with Japan to build mini nuclear reactors capable of powering factories, data centres and military bases.
Sanae Takaichi, Japan's prime minister, and Sir Keir Starmer will sign an agreement at a ceremony in Downing Street on Sunday, as part of a push to strengthen energy cooperation between Tokyo and London.
The tie-up will lead to British engineering giant Rolls-Royce working with the National Nuclear Laboratory and its Japanese counterpart to develop advanced modular reactors (AMRs) and the fuel needed to power them,The Telegraph can disclose.
Japan has been testing a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor for decades, but the technology remains unproven commercially.
Under the partnership, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency will share its extensive safety data with Rolls-Royce to help the company build a demonstrator AMR in the UK by the mid-2030s.
Sir Keir Starmer and Sanae Takaichi are set to sign an agreement at a ceremony in Downing Street to join forces to build mini nuclear reactors - Yuichi Yamazaki/Shutterstock
Rolls is understood to have held discussions with the Government about potential support that could eventually include taxpayer-backed loans, debt financing or direct investments from the National Wealth Fund.
The Japanese also have their own domestic programme. It is hoped the tie-up will allow both countries to road-test the technology together.
It comes as nuclear companies around the world race to be the first to commercialise AMR technology.
Chris Cholerton, the group president of Rolls-Royce, said the deal between the UK and Japan marked "a milestone moment" that opened the door to "industrial growth, skilled jobs and energy security for our nations".
Masanori Koguchi, the president of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, said: "I hope that through our expertise in high temperature gas reactor technologies, this collaboration will lead to their early deployment, a significant step towards net zero."
Nuclear power plants are a key pillar of the Government's plan to reach net zero carbon emissions because, unlike wind and solar farms, they can provide stable supplies of electricity at any time of day.
Rolls-Royce's AMRs will run at temperatures of 700 degrees or more and produce between 15 and 35 megawatts of electricity.
Rolls-Royce's advanced modular reactors will run at temperatures of 700 degrees - Rolls-Royce
This means they could provide heat and power for energy-intensive factory processes such as steel-making or the production of green hydrogen, cement and chemicals such as plastics and fertilisers.
Because they use a different kind of reactor technology, the plants are also viewed as "meltdown-proof" and will require less space than the separate small modular reactors that the company plans to build in Anglesey, Wales.
Advertisement
That should mean they can be built closer to urban areas or directly next to industrial estates.
Under the agreement, Rolls-Royce, the UK and Japanese national laboratories have also agreed to explore options for supplying the novel kind of fuel the AMRs will use.
Known as tri-structural isotropic particle fuel (TRISO), it is seen by scientists as inherently safer than more conventional nuclear fuel because it can be left to cool on its own.
TRISO fuel is made by taking poppy seed-sized pieces of uranium and wrapping them in layers of ceramic material that are almost as tough as diamond.
These pellets are then compacted into hexagonal blocks or billiard ball-sized "pebbles", which can be loaded into a nuclear reactor.
The Government has already announced a £300m programme with Urenco, a nuclear fuel company, to build a UK enrichment facility capable of providing the uranium needed to make TRISO pellets.
However, there are currently no facilities anywhere in Europe capable of turning them into finished fuel containers.
The collaboration with resource-poor Japan comes as the world's fourth-largest economy is seeking to rebuild its nuclear industry.
It was once one of the world's biggest users of atomic energy, generating roughly 30pc of the country's electricity from 54 reactors.
But the Fukushima disaster triggered a public backlash and today only 15 of 33 operable reactors are in use.
It has left Japan heavily reliant on imports of oil and liquefied natural gas from the Middle East and the US, at a time when the Iran crisis has sent prices soaring globally.
Under Ms Takaichi, the pro-nuclear prime minister, reactors are now being brought back online, but the process is slow.
The UK is also seeking to revive its nuclear programme as a generation of older reactors face retirement in the late 2020s and early 2030s.
Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.
Source: “AOL Money”
