Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has welcomed plans for Siemens Energy to manufacture key components for Rolls-Royce small modular reactors in Newcastle, saying the investment will strengthen Britain’s energy security and create new opportunities for UK industry.
The agreement will see Siemens Energy supply steam turbines, generators and other systems for Rolls-Royce SMR’s planned Generation 3+ nuclear power stations. Siemens Energy has a major turbine manufacturing presence in Newcastle, at the historic Parsons Works site in Byker.
Writing on X, Fahnbulleh said:
“This is what our golden age of nuclear looks like in practice.”
She added that producing components in Britain would “help strengthen our energy security, reduce our exposure to volatile international gas markets and create new export opportunities for British industry”.
Fahnbulleh visited the Shields Road plant on Thursday, as Rolls-Royce SMR confirmed that key steam turbine components for its first three reactors would be manufactured in Newcastle — the first time such components will be produced for a small modular reactor anywhere in Europe. The announcement is expected to support more than 550 jobs at the site.
The development comes after Great British Energy – Nuclear signed a contract with Rolls-Royce SMR in April following the Government’s technology selection process. Rolls-Royce SMR had been selected as the preferred bidder in June 2025.
Plans are now progressing for three Rolls-Royce SMRs at Wylfa on Anglesey, with Siemens Energy positioned to supply major conventional power-generation equipment.
Fahnbulleh, who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July, said the Newcastle manufacturing announcement demonstrated how Labour’s nuclear programme could translate into industrial opportunities and skilled employment across Britain.
Small modular reactors are designed to be manufactured in a more standardised way than traditional large-scale nuclear plants, with components produced in factories before being assembled at the power station site.
For Labour, expanding nuclear power forms part of a wider strategy to strengthen domestic energy production, reduce reliance on volatile international fossil fuel markets and support high-skilled manufacturing supply chains.
The Newcastle announcement also underlines the potential for Britain’s established engineering centres to benefit from the next generation of nuclear investment.
Fahnbulleh said the objective was not simply to generate more secure clean power, but to ensure that British workers and businesses benefit from the investment needed to deliver it.
With Rolls-Royce SMR projects now moving forward and major components set to be produced domestically, ministers are presenting the programme as an example of how the clean energy transition can support both energy security and a new generation of British manufacturing jobs.
