Rolls-Royce selects Mott MacDonald and AtkinsRéalis as design partners for major nuclear submarine site expansion work

Rolls-Royce Submarines has announced the joint appointment of Mott MacDonald and AtkinsRéalis as its new fissile design partners – a key milestone in the expansion of its Raynesway site in Derby.

Both Mott MacDonald and AtkinsRéalis are globally renowned engineering and development consultancies that bring with them a wealth of experience working on major, complex and high-profile projects.

In June 2023, Rolls-Royce announced it is planning to double the size of its submarines site in Derby to meet the growth in demand from the Royal Navy, and as a result of last year’s AUKUS announcement.

This increase in demand will see new manufacturing and office facilities being built and will create 1,170 skilled roles across a range of disciplines, including manufacturing and engineering.

(l-r) Steve Walters, major projects director – nuclear, AtkinsRéalis; Stuart Hardman, energy defence account leader, Mott MacDonald; Terry Meighan, director – infrastructure, Rolls-Royce; Andy Smart, head of major projects – nuclear, AtkinsRéalis; Chris Hickey, head of supply chain – regeneration, Rolls-Royce and Jeremy Reed, Mott MacDonald global practice leader – nuclear.

As the work will take place within the nuclear licensed site at Raynesway, the design and construction of fissile facilities adds a level of complexity and rigour above and beyond that of traditional builds. Working as the PROPEL joint venture, it will be AtkinsRéalis and Mott MacDonald’s role to design these new facilities and work with the incoming fissile construction partner to deliver them.

Jeremy Reed, global practice leader – Nuclear, Mott MacDonald said:

“Mott MacDonald brings over 60 years of experience delivering complex technical solutions in highly regulated, secure, and safety-critical nuclear environments. Combined with our commitment to excellence, safety, and sustainability, this experience, along with that of our partner AtkinsRéalis, will play a key role in supporting Rolls-Royce Submarines to deliver the successful expansion of the Derby site, continuing our longstanding commitment to support the UK submarine enterprise.”

Rolls-Royce Submarines infrastructure director Terry Meighan said:

“The expansion work we have planned is of critical national importance as it enables us to safely increase our speed of manufacture, helping to deliver Dreadnought and the new SSN-AUKUS attack submarines at a much faster rate.

“The experience and deep nuclear knowledge, as well as the strong safety ethic, evidenced by the combined AtkinsRéalis and Mott MacDonald team means the design of our crucial new fissile facilities is in capable hands.”

The next milestone in Rolls-Royce’s 10-year expansion programme is to select the fissile construction partner, who will bring AtkinsRéalis and Mott MacDonald’s designs to life. They will be tasked with building the nuclear manufacturing facilities.

Mott MacDonald partners with clients in the design, delivery and maintenance of the infrastructure and equipment for modern nuclear defence facilities, where technology is constantly evolving, and safety and security are paramount. It has over 1,000 highly skilled nuclear specialists backed by 20,000 multidisciplinary people in over 50 countries, connecting to overcome complex challenges for the benefit of clients and the communities they serve.