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Rolls-Royce Holding PLC’s plan to power artificial intelligence with its small nuclear reactors could make it the UK’s most valuable company, its chief executive told the BBC. Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic told the BBC it has the ‘potential’ to become the UK’s highest-valued company by overtaking the largest firms on the London Stock Exchange, thanks to its SMR deals. ‘There is no private company in the world with the nuclear capability we have. If we are not market leader globally, we did something wrong,’ he said. The London-based engineering firm has signed deals to provide small modular reactors to the UK and Czech governments. AI has boomed in popularity since 2022, but the technology uses lots of energy, something which has raised practical and environmental concerns, the BBC report noted. Erginbilgic has overseen a tenfold increase in Rolls-Royce’s share price since taking over in January 2023. On Wednesday, shares in Rolls-Royce were up 0.7% at 1,098.50 pence each, just off an all-time high of 1,109.50p. The firm is worth £92.70 billion, placing it fifth in the list of most valuable companies on London’s FTSE 100. Pharmaceuticals firm AstraZeneca PLC holds the top spot at £175.42 billion, followed by Asia-focused lender HSBC Holdings PLC at £166.22 billion, oil major Shell PLC at £156.26 billion and consumer goods firm Unilever PLC at £110.93 billion. Erginbilgic ruled out the idea of Rolls-Royce seeking to list its shares in New York despite the fact that 50% of its shareholders and customers are US-based. ‘It’s not in our plan,’ said Erginbilgic. ‘I don’t agree with the idea you can only perform in the US. That’s not true and hopefully we have demonstrated that.’ SMRs are not only smaller but quicker to build than traditional nuclear plants, with costs likely to come down as units are rolled out, the BBC report said. Erginbilgic estimates that the world will need 400 SMRs by 2050. At a cost of up to £2.2 billion each, ‘that’s another trillion-dollar-plus market he wants and expects Rolls-Royce to dominate,’ the report added. The company has signed a deal to develop six SMRs for the Czech Republic and is developing three for the UK. But it remains an unproven technology. Erginbilgic conceded he could not currently point to a working SMR example but said he was confident in its future potential, the report stated. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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