Owner's engineer sought for UK SMR projects
Great British Nuclear, the arms-length body set up to oversee the UK's plans for new nuclear, is to launch a tender to procure up to two owner's engineers as part of its small modular reactor programme.
"The Owner's Engineer (OE) will provide essential independent assurance to the Intelligent Customer and Intelligent Client for the relevant SMR project," Great British Nuclear (GBN) said in its announcement. "This will support the deployment of first-of-a-kind nuclear technology in the UK and facilitate GBN's goal of reaching a Final Investment Decision(s) for up to two SMR projects.
"In particular, the OE will act as a 'client friend' to the Intelligent Customer and Intelligent Client and provide competent resource to undertake specification, oversight, audit, review and advice for decisions relating to design, scope, budget, risk, delivery and contract compliance. It will also play the role of subject matter expert to deliver independent technical and delivery Line of Defence 2 assurance on major design and build contracts."
GBN said the total value of the contract is GBP600 million (USD799 million), assuming that two contracts are awarded (one for each planned SMR project), each with a total contract value of up to GBP300 million. However, it notes that the actual value will depend on a number of factors.
The duration of the contract(s) is envisaged to be 14 years, but GBN said it will set a completion date once it has selected the SMR technology partner(s).
"It is expected that SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) will have the chance to participate in this procurement through a tenderer's supply chain, a joint venture, a special purpose vehicle or a consortium," GBN said.
The tender notice is estimated to be published on 2 June, with submissions accepted until 19 September. A decision on the contract winner(s) is expected to be made on 12 March 2026.
GBN said there will be two stages in the OE procurement process. In the first stage, tenderers will need to respond to the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), which will include conditions of participation. If the response submitted by a tenderer satisfies all the relevant conditions, the tenderer will be invited to submit a tender as part of the second stage of the procurement. GBN said it will then assess the tenderer's proposals against questions covering technical, commercial and social value criteria.
The announcement of the OE tender comes shortly after three of the four shortlisted technology providers - GE Hitachi, Holtec and Rolls-Royce SMR - confirmed they had submitted their final tender responses to GBN. The fourth provider - Westinghouse - has yet to confirm whether it has submitted its final tender.
In February, GBN said it remains on track to select the chosen technology before the summer. A final investment decision is expected to be taken in 2029.
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