ŠKODA JS Preparing to Manufacture Reactors and Other Nuclear Equipment for Rolls-Royce SMR

ŠKODA JS a.s., a member of the ČEZ Group and a leading European manufacturer of equipment for the nuclear power industry, has taken an important step in launching the small modular reactor project. Today, the British company Rolls-Royce SMR announced that it has selected ŠKODA JS as its supplier of key nuclear components. This is the first commercial agreement between the two companies directly concerning the development and manufacturing of SMRs.          

“This is an absolutely crucial milestone. It means that our company, as a purely Czech manufacturer, has succeeded in joining the global supply chain of the rapidly growing nuclear energy sector amid worldwide competition and will play a key role in SMR projects not only in the Czech Republic,” said Karel Bednář, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of ŠKODA JS a.s.

“For our team, this is a highly prestigious achievement and confirmation of the company’s capabilities to cooperate in the development and manufacturing of reactors and other SMR components for Rolls-Royce. Specifically, this concerns reactor pressure vessels, their internal components, reactor vessel heads, pressurizers, and other heavy components,” added Karel Bednář.  

The Pilsen-based company has already launched development and engineering work on all the above-mentioned equipment. The company subsequently plans to manufacture the components both in its Reactor Hall and in the building of the former adjacent heat-treatment facility, whose brownfield site it invested in last year. The partnership established between Rolls-Royce and ŠKODA JS also opens opportunities for other Czech suppliers.

The British company Rolls-Royce SMR will build the first three small modular reactors at the Wylfa site on the island of Anglesey in North Wales (United Kingdom). The location previously hosted a nuclear power plant. Rolls-Royce SMR was selected by the British government organization Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) as the preferred supplier of small modular reactors (SMRs) in the UK. In the Czech Republic, ČEZ plans to build up to 3 GW of small modular reactor capacity in cooperation with Rolls-Royce SMR. The first Czech SMR is also expected to be constructed at a traditional nuclear site, adjacent to the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant.

Karel Samec, Spokesperson
karel.samec@skoda-js.cz    +420 603 200 076