> I suspect that the push for civilian SMRs is a disguised subsidy for the naval reactor programme

It absolutely isn’t. There is very little crossover between the RR SMR (which is 470 MWe, not really an ‘SMR’ by IAEA definition) and a submarine reactor core. Sub cores are smaller and optimised for different conditions. They’re vastly different tech. The teams at RR working on these are totally distinct with no crossover.

RR just got £9B for sub NSSS work. They don’t need a back door subsidy when they have a big cheque coming right through the front door!

If anything, UK govt is prioritising domestic technology, whether or not that’s the best from a purely economic point of view.

It is all about having the workforce able to deliver on the military ambitions.

This has been well known for a while, and western governments have started to say the quiet part out loud to justify the insanely large handouts required to build civillian nucleaar power.

https://theconversation.com/military-interests-are-pushing-n...