Rolls-Royce SMR has awarded ŠKODA JS, a Czech company headquartered in Pilsen, the contract to design and manufacture the control rod drive mechanisms for its 470 MW modular reactors. This is an exclusive arrangement: ŠKODA JS becomes the sole supplier for this critical component across the entire British SMR fleet.
Control Rod Drive Mechanisms serve two distinct functions. During normal operation, they regulate the reactor’s electrical output. In an emergency, they drive the control rods into the core to trigger a rapid shutdown. In short, they are the devices that ensure the reactor remains controllable under any operating condition. ŠKODA JS will first build a prototype tailored to the British design, then retool its Pilsen facilities for series production. Company management has estimated that each plant built by Rolls-Royce SMR will generate orders worth more than one billion Czech crowns.
The choice is no coincidence. ČEZ, the Czech state energy group that controls ŠKODA JS, also holds a 20% stake in Rolls-Royce SMR, acquired in July 2025. This ownership overlap has created a convergence of interests that extends well beyond any single contract. ČEZ and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade have already signed agreements with Rolls-Royce SMR to assess the sites at Tušimice and Dětmarovice, in addition to the already-planned installations at Temelín. The three sites combined could accommodate up to 3,000 megawatts of installed capacity.
Separately, in May 2026 Rolls-Royce SMR had named two strategic suppliers for nuclear island components: ŠKODA JS and South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility. The scope of work includes the reactor pressure vessel, early supplier involvement, and design finalisation. The newly awarded contract for control rod drive mechanisms extends that scope further, expanding ŠKODA JS’s role within the programme. Rolls-Royce SMR has also contracted ÚJV Řež to carry out analysis, verification, and testing of critical SMR components.
It is worth stepping back to consider the broader picture. Across Europe, very few manufacturers hold the technical qualifications required to build control systems for pressurised water reactors. Securing ŠKODA JS as a Tier 1 supplier gives Rolls-Royce SMR access to a rare manufacturing capability at a time when competition for production slots on the continent is intensifying month by month. The Wylfa site in North Wales is already designated to host the first three British SMRs under the contract signed with Great British Energy – Nuclear. If timelines hold, the supply chain being built today will be the one powering the Rolls-Royce model’s full European expansion for decades to come.
