Rolls-Royce Secures Deal For ŠKODA-Made Hardware To Drive The Next Generation Of Nuclear Power Stations
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on techradar.
These three bullet-points act as sub-headings.
- Critical safety hardware for an upcoming range of Rolls-Royce’s turbine-equipped nuclear power stations is being provided by ŠKODA JS
- The Czech company will provide safety mechanisms for 470 MW reactors
- ŠKODA JS was bought by the Czech Republic’s state-backed electric power company ČEZ in 2022, removing it from its previous Russian owner, OMZ
These three paragraphs add more details.
Development of new nuclear plants based around Rolls-Royce turbines will feature critical safety hardware from ŠKODA JS, it has been announced. The Czechia-based company – once part of the old ŠKODA Works organization – will design and manufacture the Control Rod Drive Mechanisms, which are vital for regulating output and handling safety in emergencies.
The Rolls-Royce SMR (small modular reactor, but also referred to as UK SMR) is a reactor capable of outputting 470 MW of energy. That’s the equivalent of 150 onshore wind turbines, and offers a low-carbon, always on, and virtually invisible alternative to landscape-spoiling steel and fiberglass constructions.
Competition for nuclear hardware expertise is strong across Europe, and ŠKODA JS is considered a “tier-one” supplier. The deal is expected to be worth Kč 1 billion Czech Koruna (around £35 million) per Rolls-Royce power station.
In Clean, Affordable Energy For All, I said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see other countries join both projects, if they have something to offer. It looks like Skoda is a partner for Rolls-Royce.
Memorandum Of Understanding
The article also mentions a Memorandum of Understanding and says this.
Announcement of the ŠKODA JS built Control Rod Drive Mechanisms (CRDMs) follows an earlier Memorandum of Understanding with Rolls-Royce, in which the British company developed plans to develop sites in the Czech Republic, enabling deployment of up to 3GW of power.
That looks like the Czech Republic could be looking at six Rolls-Royce SMRs.
Conclusion
I must admit that I was a bit surprised that Rolls-Royce had gone to Skoda for such a critical component.
Consider.
- But in the 1960s, I put control systems on old machinery and you have to get it right.
- Skoda have probably worked with a lot of second-grade Russian hardware, so they make sure it works.
- Skoda are probably honoured to be working on such a prestige project.
- It might even be a tactic employed by Rolls-Ryce to get the best out of suppliers.
So long as it results in a safe and reliable reactor, who cares?
Meet The 6×6 Toyota Hilux Built To Tackle Electric Car Fires
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on Select Car Leasing.
This is the sub-heading.
A car fire is never a good thing, and if the car is electric, the results could be even worse. If it all goes up in flames while the vehicle is in a multi-storey car park, then the consequences could be dire, with limited space available for fire services to control the situation.
This introductory paragraph adds some more details.
Such incidents happen — more than 1,000 cars were destroyed in a fire in Liverpool, while a multi-storey collapsed in Stavanger — so a UK company has converted a Toyota Hilux pickup into a six-wheel EV fire-fighting machine to keep us all safe.
A lot more details are given on the vehicle’s web site, which is called the 6 x 6 HILOAD.
I was alerted to the need for such a vehicle by this article in The Times, which is entitled How Scotland’s New £30k Fire Engines Left Crews Walking To Wildfires.
The pictures on the 6 x 6 HILOAD web site, show a vehicle with a Czechnia registration.
So, I typed “6 x 6 HILOAD Czechnia” into Google AI and received this answer.
The 6×6 Hiload (developed by Prospeed Motorsport) is a custom, six-wheeled conversion of the Toyota Hilux designed specifically for emergency response, particularly targeting electric vehicle (EV) battery fires.In Czechia, the 6×6 Hiload is undergoing trials with Czech Fire & Rescue Services (Hasiči) to test its capabilities in fast-response and confined environments. Key features of the vehicle in action include:
EV Firefighting: It utilizes specialized equipment like the Coldcut Cobra system, which pierces EV battery casings to extinguish fires directly with a minimal amount of water, reducing the risk of thermal runaway.
Low Profile: Standing at less than 1.9 metres tall, it can easily navigate low-clearance urban underground and multi-storey car parks that traditional, larger fire engines cannot access.
High Payload: The custom six-wheel chassis stretches the Hilux and increases its payload capacity to roughly 3,000kg, allowing it to carry heavy fire and rescue equipment without sacrificing off-road mobility.
This chassis will have more uses than a Swiss army knife.
I suspect the Ukrainians could find several uses.
