Rolls-Royce small nuclear program to run out of cash by end-2024 - Reuters
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Rolls-Royce's (OTCPK:RYCEY) (OTCPK:RYCEF) small modular nuclear reactor program will run out of cash by the end of 2024, risking development of technology the U.K. government has said could improve energy security and reach climate targets, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Rolls-Royce's (OTCPK:RYCEY) (OTCPK:RYCEF) small modular reactor development business received a Â£210M commitment from the government in 2021, but talks on how the projects would be funded have not started.
"We are facing a cliff edge, by December 2024 the money will have run out," Alastair Evans, government and corporate affairs director at Rolls-Royce SMR, told Reuters.
"We aren't asking the government to make an order (for the nuclear units) today but we need to start negotiations on a deployment plan by the middle of this year," Evans said, adding that with rivals working on similar technology, it is vital to move quickly.
Rolls Royce (OTCPK:RYCEY) (OTCPK:RYCEF) and shareholders in the SMR business - BNF Resources Ltd., Constellation Energy (CEG) and Qatar Investment Authority - have invested ~Â£280M so far.
Separately, Rolls-Royce (OTCPK:RYCEY) (OTCPK:RYCEF) lost another member of its executive team, as its head of defense Thomas Bell is departing to become CEO of Leidos.