Rolls-Royce small nuclear reactor design clears second UK assessment

The sort of technology we should be investing in, using world class expertise we have here.

It honestly seems crazy that nuclear power stations were all built bespoke until the point of SMR, given the licensing and safety requirements. It would be like if Airbus had to design, build, and get approval for a brand new plane every time they sold one, or car manufacturers did the same each time they sold a car.

If the design allows the reactors to be stopped and started safely with relatively quick turnaround times, then the modular nature of them allows them to be spun up as needed to follow load demands, with relatively small need for rapid short-term generation sources to fill in the gaps until other methods can come online.