Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor GDA Case Study

Supporting Rolls-Royce SMR through GDA

Rolls-Royce SMR Ltd (RR SMR) is developing innovative ways to tackle the threat of global climate change - producing and distributing smaller, factory-built modular nuclear power plants that use fission technology to produce clean, affordable energy.

The company is on track to become a world leader in SMR technology, and the team at AtkinsRéalis has played a central role supporting Rolls-Royce SMR through the UK's Generic Design Assessment (GDA) – a process that has proved to be a game-changer for growth and career development.

It's been a launchpad for emerging talent – with junior engineers stepping into lead roles and experienced professionals expanding their technical depth and project leadership skills.

"This project has had a profound impact on my career," says Kruti. "Transitioning from a task engineer to a report technical lead while working on multiple projects simultaneously was both challenging and rewarding."

"Being part of RR SMR has been pivotal for my professional growth," says Belen. "It's pushed me to expand both my technical expertise and project leadership capabilities”.

What is Generic Design Assessment (GDA)?

In the UK, new nuclear power plants are assessed to provide confidence that the proposed design is capable of being constructed, operated and decommissioned in accordance with sufficiently high standards of safety, security and environmental protection. This assessment process is called Generic Design Assessment (GDA) and is carried out by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and Environment Agency (EA).

The GDA process has up to three steps:

• Step 1: Initiation
• Step 2: Fundamental Assessment
• Step 3: Detailed Assessment

RR SMR formally began Step 1 of GDA in April 2022 and completed it in April 2023, entering Step 2. RR SMR completed Step 2 in July 2024, leaving Step 3 in progress which is expected to conclude in December 2026.

GDA Hazards Assessment

The requirements for a safety case at GDA Step 2 and Step 3 necessitate the development of a robust hazards assessment to demonstrate that risks have been adequately considered and managed. In a nuclear safety context, a hazard is a danger to plant or safety-related structures that can originate within (internal hazard) or outside of (external hazard) the site boundary. Both these hazard types, and combinations of the two, have to be included in the assessment.

This assessment represents an opportunity to influence the RR SMR design from an early stage, ensuring that it develops in a way that reduces the risk of hazards to As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). This is a significant undertaking, requiring a large body of work including detailed analysis and substantial evidence to meet UK good practice and regulatory standards.

How AtkinsRéalis was involved?

Initially, AtkinsRéalis provided expertise to the RR SMR hazards team through secondments, directly helping to grow the team and hazards capability, as well as supporting activities such as regulatory interaction. As GDA progressed, significant quantities of hazards analysis and safety case authoring were required, beyond the capacity of the RR SMR hazards team. AtkinsRéalis provided a team of hazard and safety case engineers to deliver packages of work, ranging from creating hazard methodologies to performing analysis and writing up the results into safety reports.

"The blend of technical depth and project responsibility has made it a truly rewarding learning journey – shaping me into a more confident and capable engineer," says Belen.

This blended approach successfully reduced expenses while facilitating the upskilling of junior employees. The consistency of team personnel and integration with existing secondees ensured that team members had a strong understanding of the processes to follow and could share their expertise with colleagues new to the discipline. Additionally, team members held a range of cultural and academic backgrounds and technical experience, creating a dynamic team offering a comprehensive intellectual perspective.

"Now, as part of future work with my role as a technical mentor," says Kruti, "I have the opportunity to help and guide others, fostering a collaborative spirit that drives innovation and excellence."

Challenges

One of the key challenges in performing analysis to date was the quickly evolving nature of the RR SMR design, which developed significantly during GDA. This necessitated flexibility and innovation to future-proof the ongoing hazards analysis. The hazards team interacted on an ongoing basis with the wider RR SMR teams (including civil, system and component designers) to understand the latest design and also in turn to ensure that the outputs of the hazards assessment influence the design decisions being made.

Developing our team

Throughout this project, AtkinsRéalis has established strong professional relationships:

“Working on RR SMR during the early design stages has been incredibly dynamic," notes Belen, "with each assessment involving multiple interfaces with stakeholders and the regulator."

The AtkinsRéalis team dedicated to RR SMR hazards assessment has expanded throughout the duration of the project. It has been a friendly and rewarding and environment in which to work, with a diverse range of seniorities and backgrounds all supporting each other and contributing to the success of the project as a whole.

"My roles on these projects have evolved significantly over time," adds Kruti. "Starting as a task engineer, I have grown into the role of a technical lead and have recently been named as a technical mentor for future work."

The RR SMR workstream has given our engineers a platform to advance their capabilities and discover how brilliant they can be, demonstrating how a career with AtkinsRéalis really can take you places.

Want to know more? Explore careers in nuclear safety with AtkinsRéalis