Qatar invests £85m in Rolls-Royce’s small nuclear reactor arm

Rolls-Royce has secured £85 million from Qatar for its operation building small nuclear reactors (Rolls-Royce/PA)

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is to invest £85 million into Rolls-Royce’s Government-backed scheme to build mini nuclear power stations in the UK.

Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor, which is majority-owned by the engineering giant, has been set up to develop sites that are around a tenth of the size of traditional reactors.

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will take a 10% stake in the venture as a result of the investment.

Investment from the Qatar fund comes after BNF Resources UK, owned by the French Perrodo family, and US operator Exelon Generation, announced cash injections last month.

Model of a small nuclear reactor designed by Rolls-Royce (Rolls-Royce/PA)

Rolls-Royce SMR is now “full funded” after receiving almost £500 million worth of investment, the company said.

Warren East chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce Group, said: “I am tremendously pleased to announce that we have further strengthened our relationship with Qatar, through QIA’s investment in the Rolls-Royce SMR business.

“We have successfully raised the capital we need to establish Rolls-Royce SMR and it is encouraging to confirm that the business is now set up to succeed.”

Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, chief executive officer of QIA, said: “QIA is investing in the energy transition and funding the technologies that enable low-carbon electricity generation.

“We will continue to seek out investments that align with our mandate to deliver long-term value for future generations through responsible sustainable investments.”

The Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng said: “This investment is a clear vote of confidence in the UK’s global leadership in nuclear innovation and follows the £210 million of Government investment in the development of small modular reactors.

“It represents a huge step forward in our plan to deploy more home-grown, affordable clean energy – ensuring greater energy independence for the UK, highly skilled jobs and bringing cheaper, cleaner electricity to people’s homes.”

Shares in Rolls-Royce were 4.1% lower at 109.5p in early trading.