Cavendish Nuclear secures major role in Joint Venture contract for UK’s first Small Modular Reactors

Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) has selected a Joint Venture between Cavendish Nuclear, a wholly owned subsidiary of Babcock, and Amentum as Owner’s Engineer for its flagship small modular reactor (SMR) project in the UK.

The contract, which has a maximum value of £300 million and a duration of up to 14 years, covers work to deploy GBE-N’s preferred reactor technology from Rolls-Royce SMR at the Wylfa site in North Wales.

The ‘Litmus Nuclear’ joint venture will provide essential independent assurance and expert technical advice including design, safety, engineering, construction and commissioning to support GBE-N’s goal of reaching a final investment decision for the SMR program at Wylfa.

Mick Gornall, Managing Director, Cavendish Nuclear said, “We’re delighted to be awarded this landmark Owner’s Engineer role. The appointment reflects the strong and diverse capability within Cavendish Nuclear and the scale at which Babcock can deliver across the nuclear enterprise. The skills, experience and knowledge of our colleagues will bring assurance to the UK’s first of a kind SMR programme and will provide many more opportunities to build long term, meaningful careers for a wide range of people.”

The joint venture partners will ensure that the SMR programme is robust, meets regulatory requirements and can deliver reliable, low-carbon power for decades to come.

Simon Roddy, Chief Executive of GBE-N added: “As we continue to bring together the coalition required to deliver the UK’s first SMRs, I’m pleased to welcome Amentum and Cavendish Nuclear to the team. Their valuable expertise will be instrumental in assuring GBE-N’s project moves with pace and determination, and I look forward to working with them over the coming years.”

In November 2025, the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced that Wylfa, on the island of Anglesey/Ynys Môn had been selected as the site for the UK’s first SMRs, a planned fleet of 470MWe reactors which are smaller and designed to be built more quickly than some traditional nuclear power stations.