Welsh Government wants Rolls Royce nuclear component factory built on Deeside
The Welsh Government is preparing a proposal to bring a nuclear manufacturing facility to Deeside, Flintshire.
Rebecca Evans, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, announced that a proposal is being prepared for Rolls-Royce SMR to develop a modular manufacturing facility in Deeside.
The facility would be linked to the UK’s first three small modular reactors, which Rolls-Royce SMR is designing for the Wylfa site on Anglesey.
Ms Evans made the announcement at a Nuclear Industry Association event in Cardiff on Thursday.
“Deeside is recognised as an advanced manufacturing cluster with established heavy industry, logistics connectivity, a skilled workforce and supporting infrastructure, further strengthened by its designation within a £160 million investment zone,” she said.
“An SMR factory in Deeside would not simply support one site, it would anchor a repeatable build programme and a long-term supply chain for many decades to come.”
The Cabinet Secretary said the Welsh Government wanted Wales “not only to host nuclear generation, but to help build it, maintain it and supply it for decades to come.”
Rolls-Royce SMR has not publicly confirmed whether Deeside is among the locations it is considering for a manufacturing facility.
Deeside has been in the frame for Rolls-Royce SMR manufacturing before.
In April 2024, the company abandoned plans for a pressure vessel factory after delays to the UK Government’s SMR design competition.
Deeside’s Gateway industrial park had been shortlisted for that facility alongside Sunderland and Redcar.
Rolls-Royce SMR said at the time it had “prioritised work on our modules assembly and test facility” and that locations previously considered, including Deeside, remained contenders.
No details have been given on how many jobs the facility could create, what it would cost, or when a decision is expected.
Ken Skates, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, said separately during a visit to Deeside Industrial Estate this week that Rolls-Royce had told the Welsh Government that modular reactor components would be transported by road, strengthening the case for road infrastructure investment in the Deeside corridor.
The Wylfa site has long been identified as a location for new nuclear generation.
Rolls-Royce SMR is designing small modular reactors that can be manufactured off-site in a factory and assembled at the power station site, rather than being built entirely on-site as conventional nuclear plants are.
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