Newcastle’s Siemens Energy Byker plant wins deal to build UK nuclear power station parts

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh visited the Siemens Energy plant in Byker on Thursday to announce the deal to manufacture steam turbines for Rolls-Royce’s small modular reactors planned for Anglesey

Critical components for a new UK nuclear power station will be manufactured in Newcastle. The Siemens Energy facility in Byker will produce steam turbines for Rolls-Royce’s flagship small modular reactors (SMRs) under construction on Anglesey in North Wales.

It marks the first occasion that such equipment will be built for a small modular reactor anywhere across Europe. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh toured Siemens Energy’s Shields Road site last Thursday morning and stated that the agreement demonstrated “what our golden age of nuclear looks like in practice”.

The Labour minister told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “This part of the world has a huge history in engineering. We have good, high-skilled workers, and a history of training people up. The opportunity, for me, with reindustrialisation is this – it is using clean energy, which we know we need more of, building out a supply chain here in Newcastle. We want to see this and we need to see far more of it.”

Siemens Energy occupies the site of the historic works established by engineer Charles Parsons in the 1800s and currently employs approximately 600 people on Tyneside, with dozens of new apprentices set to join next week. The works was also where the steam turbine was constructed for the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant, Calder Hall in West Cumbria, which commenced generating in 1956.

Ms Fahnbulleh said the SMR station, scheduled to become operational in the mid-2030s, would contribute to delivering sustained energy bill reductions for households. She added: “My number one job is getting bills down. That is the thing the Prime Minister has asked me to do and every time we see the price cap increase it is tough for families and hugely frustrating for me. Part of the way we are going to bring bills down for good is, firstly, we need to diversify the energy mix.”, reports Chronicle Live.

“When we talk about clean power it is because one of the things that is driving up bills is our reliance on global fossil fuel markets. The more we have nuclear, the more we have wind, the more we are relying on homegrown energy, the more we can break that link. But at the same time, we also have to do things to make sure the market is working for consumers. A big part of what we need to do is look across the piece and say ‘how are we doing everything we can to push coats down so it impacts on people’s pockets and the cost of business’.”

Rolls-Royce SMR appointed Siemens Energy as its international turbine supplier in 2025 and has also secured deals for comparable nuclear power facilities in Sweden and Czechia. Darren Davidson, UK Vice President for Siemens Energy, said he was optimistic the partnership would trigger further investment into the firm’s Newcastle facility.

He added: “We have 600 jobs here and we have seen significant growth over the last two years. We have seen the creation of more than 100 jobs in the last two years on this site and the collaboration with Rolls-Royce will allow us to grow further and provide further investment.”

Rolls-Royce SMR chief executive Chris Cholerton described Siemens Energy as a “world class” supplier, stating: “This is a perfect example of reindustrialisation and the golden age of nuclear bringing that to life.”

Labour’s Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “When the Prime Minister promised growth in every postcode, this is what he meant. This investment will support more than 550 good jobs for people in Newcastle and delivers on our pledge to reindustrialise Britain. Building small modular reactors here in the UK presents huge benefits for us, from more export opportunities to more jobs on the ground at home.

“Through our Modern Industrial Strategy, we are creating the conditions for businesses to invest in high-skilled jobs, strengthen supply chains and back the industries that can put more money in people’s pockets.”