Let's hope Miliband isn't hiding from Heathrow and the third runway but is instead locked in a quiet room composing his announcement of multiple SMR's to be built by Rolls Royce and sited in the UK.
#4022 and #4023 both excellent reads. Thanks guys. |
 BUSINESS WEST
Simon Bowen said he hoped the region "could be the nuclear hub of the UK"
Published
1 February 2025, 07:29 GMT
A region has "huge potential" to once again become a nuclear hub, according to the chairman of Great British Nuclear (GBN).
Land in Gloucestershire next to two decommissioned nuclear power stations, in Oldbury and Berkeley Green, is set to be redeveloped for a new kind of nuclear technology.
Simon Bowen, of GBN, said the region's "rich nuclear history" was "enormously exciting", and the new projects would provide "very high quality jobs" for the area.
"I have made no secret of the fact that I think Oldbury is an absolute prime site for SMRs [small modular reactors]," he added.
He continued: "I think there is a massive opportunity now with us purchasing Oldbury, with the separate Berkeley project nearby, and all the work that Western Gateway has done with the Severn Edge project."
Mr Bowen explained Oldbury was a site that might be able to house up to six SMRs.
A black and white image showing a control room inside the Berkeley nuclear power station. There are men sat behind desks making notes, and another man in white overalls standing up on the phone. The walls are covered in circular dials, buttons and valves.
The nuclear power station at Berkeley, seen here in 1963, was stripped of its equipment when it closed in 1989
Mr Bowen said: "A skills hub around the south west is being launched and the UTC [University Technical College] at Berkeley is a great model for apprenticeships and higher apprenticeships."
Construction for the Oldbury plant is due to begin around 2029.
Mr Bowen said investment in the region was set to be worth "tens of billions" and would create thousands of jobs.
"You are putting infrastructure in place which will last for 60-80 years and possibly longer.
"People smart at the costs of nuclear but the true cost of nuclear is competitive when you compare it with things like offshore wind and a lot of the new technologies," he said. |
Stephen Anness, head of global equities at Invesco and manager of Invesco Global Equity Income Trust (IGET), explains why the trust invests in Rolls-Royce (RR.):"We have followed Rolls-Royce for over two decades, and have always viewed the business as technologically strong, operating in an industry with enormous barriers to entry and offering great visibility on what the company would still be doing 10 or even 20 years into the future. Sadly, it was frequently let down by its operational efficiency, which management teams had failed to get to grips with."The share price peaked in December 2013. In the years following 2015, the business tried to reform under a new chief executive, Warren East. While a market leader in engineering, it was a market loser in financials (bloated costs/headcount and bureaucratic in nature); meanwhile, an issue with the Trent engine family led to planes being removed from service and to significant costs. By 2020, the business was pretty much loathed by sell-side analysts. They had given up on the turnaround by this stage it was seen as too difficult and too complex."We were intrigued by the market capitulation; the shares falling near 50 per cent between 2013 and early 2020 looked like an opportunity. We felt that the core business was very high-quality for example, the company commands a 50 per cent market share in engines for wide-body aircraft, which provides a long runway of maintenance/spares revenues, often spanning multi-decade periods. A great example is the Dart turbo engine, which has been in service since 1945 and is still operational. We initiated a position in the trust at this stage."The business had often overpromised and underdelivered. Cash generation had been patchy and the accounting is complex. This was central to our debate: could the business actually change? Covid-19 provided the burning platform needed to accelerate change; it was indeed an existential threat. The share price fell to 44p and the balance sheet was extremely stretched. To survive, the company had to increase the pace and scale of cost cuts and launch a £2bn rights issue."Tufan Erginbilgic replaced Warren East as chief executive at the beginning of 2023 and has continued to drive cost cuts and divestments. In that year, the business generated £1bn free cash flow, as it recorded its biggest engine order haul in 15 years. Strong financials allowed Rolls to repair the balance sheet, reinvest in new technology and maintain its market position."Rolls-Royce has gone through a remarkable transformation. The new management team has done an outstanding job; cost and complexity have been grappled with, free cash flow has been strong and we have seen record new orders for engines. "There are still reasons to be optimistic for the shares. We believe there continues to be room for recovery in travel demand, and the business is on track to deliver c£3bn free cash flow by 2027. The dividend will be restored this year. Finally, there is future optionality in Rolls-Royce's SMR (small modular reactor) technology. SMRs have the benefit of providing an alternative clean energy source, in locations not suitable for larger nuclear power plants."As of 31 December 2024, Rolls-Royce was Invesco Global Equity Income Trust's third-biggest holding, accounting for 4.3 per cent of the portfolio. |
Airbus not achieving targets drops engine production considerably, Chineese a real threat now to production.. |
Rollsroycegroup
This week, our teams hosted a nuclear portfolio demonstration at The House of Commons for the UK Government’s Nuclear Week in Parliament. Co-hosted by Derby South MP, Baggy Shanker and Derby North MP, Catherine Atkinson, our event provided a great opportunity to inform and educate government departments and wider industry colleagues on Rolls-Royce’s broad nuclear portfolio, from Micro-Reactors and Submarines to nuclear skills and SMRs. We’re proud to show how we’ve been harnessing the power of nuclear through innovative defence and civil applications for over 60 years. Looking to the future, we're using our experience in nuclear to develop the next generation of nuclear capability and support the energy transition. |
Hungary And UK Partner On Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Development: |
My bad everyone . Rachel Reeves is expected to announce a decision one SMRs in the Spring Statement on 26/03/2025. It's not confirmed. We could also hear sooner. But the source for this is an understated but upbeat article by Jasper Jolly in the Guardian. Where he has interviewed Stephen Lovegrove chair of RR SMR . After reading the interview depth article I got the impression Spring Statement announcement is all but confirmed . |
Roger, David Gauke when both Transport and later, Prisons minister would give Miliband a good run in the 'dim' stakes.
Miliband previously threatened to resign if Heathrow was expanded. He appears to have rowed-back on that threat. Gutless as well as dim.
To explain Gauke's claim to the 'dim' title, when he was transport minister it took me two letters to him before he understood the vehicle emissions scandal reality.
As Prisons minister I needed to write to explain giving criminals in jail their own mobile 'phone was not really a good idea. Seriously, he had considered that. It coincided with my daughter getting unwanted 'phone calls from a major criminal in jail on a basis of mistaken identity. Fortunately it turned out OK in the end. |
Totally agree with the comments here, Milliband is a disaster for the country and the dimmest cabinet minister I have ever known. Not only in his severe green policies but also he has dragged his heels on his own objectives in that we need to kick start investments in green technologies that will also bring prosperity to the UK, ie SMRs, Hydrogen and Tidal power. These are the infrastructure projects that we should be talking about, not London centric schemes like the third runway, the Lower Thames link and the Oxcam corridor and retrospective energy schemes like carbon capture. I am amazed that an intelligent PM like Starmer hasn't given him the boot. |
One of the biggest game-changers is the rise of small modular reactors (SMRs). These next-generation nuclear units are smaller, more flexible and easier to deploy than traditional reactors.
Fusion funding is also increasing as the long awaited energy source becomes more of a realistic option with commercial plants given backing both here and in the US.
If governments provide the right policy support and industries deliver on time, more than 1,000 SMRs could be operational by 2050, transforming global energy infrastructure. |
Starmer must sack lunatic Miliband to save Britain |
A good 48 minute interview with Sophie Macfarlane-Smith, Head of Customer Engagement at Rolls Royce SMR ( worth a listen )
I think I might even have a little top up ;) |
Bakar922 I am wondering please, if that is confirmed news regarding the March 27th SMR decision.? |
Decision on SMR expected on 27th of March in Spring Statement |
Frome today's D Telegraph.
Boeing suffers second-biggest loss in history following safety crisis
Bleak results take the company’s total red figures to more than $35bn since 2019.Boeing has crashed to the second biggest annual loss in its 109-year history as the plane maker grapples with the fallout of a major safety scandal.
The American giant on Tuesday confirmed it had fallen $11.8bn (£9.5bn) into the red last year, a figure only exceeded during the pandemic when the aviation market ground to a halt overnight.
It takes the company’s total losses since 2019 to more than $35bn.
The bleak results follow a torrid year for the plane maker that saw a mid-air blowout of a door plug in one of its passenger aircraft, walkouts by tens of thousands of factory workers and a string of faults aboard a spacecraft it built for Nasa.
Kelly Ortberg, who became chief executive in August, has been tasked with turning things around but the results on Tuesday underlined the scale of the task ahead of him.
The company has been plagued by persistent safety issues after two crashes involving its best-selling 737-MAX jets in Indonesia and Ethiopia – in 2018 and 2019 respectively – left 346 dead.
They led to temporary groundings of the jets and triggered broader concerns that Boeing had misled regulators during the aircraft’s certification.
In January 2024, safety fears surfaced again when an Alaska Airlines-operated 737-MAX suffered a door plug blowout while flying at 16,000 feet.
That triggered an investigation by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which later capped 737-Max production rates, put officials on production lines and ordered a major review of manufacturing processes.
Separately, the company also suffered humiliation when Elon Musk’s SpaceX was called in to return four US astronauts to Earth from the International Space Station, following technical problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
On top of this, engineers who assemble the Max, along with 777 jets and 767 cargo planes, at the company’s plants in Renton and Everett, Washington, downed tools for seven weeks in protest over pay and conditions. The dispute ended after Boeing agreed to boost their wages.
As a result, Boeing delivered just 348 jets in 2024 – down from 528 a year earlier.
That left the company far behind rival Airbus, which says it delivered 765 jets during the same period.
Boeing said it had made some progress in its turnaround so far, adjusting factory arrangements for higher production. It is also seeking to address loss-making defence contracts.
On Tuesday, Mr Ortberg said the company’s recovery would be “a multi-year journey”, following accusations that Boeing had an ingrained culture of putting profit ahead of safety.
Dave Calhoun, the former chief executive who was forced out amid the safety crisis, previously admitted that “something went wrong” at the plane maker during stormy hearings in the US Senate.
Meanwhile, the company is also scrambling to provide reassurances to Mr Musk – now a top adviser to Donald Trump – that replacements for the presidential plane, known as Air Force One, will be delivered soon.
The company is building a pair of Boeing 747s that will be used to transport the US leader around safely but the project is currently years late and more than $2bn over budget.
Boeing has blamed design changes, skills shortages and supply chain issues for the problems. Mr Trump previously threatened to cancel the order when he was last president, in 2017.
“The president wants those planes sooner so we’re working with Elon to see what we can do to pull up the schedule of those programs,” Mr Ortberg told CNBC.
However, it is not clear yet whether the planes will even be delivered during Trump’s latest four-year term. |
Hungary Seeks Small Modular Nuclear Reactors After UK Talkshttps://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/hungary-seeks-small-modular-nuclear-reactors-after-uk-talks |
Crucial! :-) |
Happening Now.
Watch XB-1's supersonic test flight in real-time. Join us and see XB-1 break the sound barrier from the viewpoint of our chase aircraft. |
Any airline company of any standing will buy a large amount of unproven engines.
The more AI there is will mean more SMR’s.
No one trusts the Chinese, even Russia.
RR’s order books are full to the brim. The new Utra Fan is in its final testing stage. Feb 27 should see a divi and more cost savings. The factual upside for RR. outweighs the negative stories.
The share price is currently where it was a couple of weeks ago. 12 months ago shares were £3.03 -£3.10. |
MCunliffe
The Chinese have no respect for patent law so I wonder what would happen if one of their panes landed outside China with engine. R R , G E and Prat would be all over it. |
China is developing a huge ‘air cruiser’. America will struggle to catch up |
eeza's second Telegraph link without paywall.
Thanks eeza. |
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