Rolls-Royce Submarines will work with INFINITY to develop large-scale prototypes of advanced components at a planned technology park in Derby, the companies announced on November 6. The partnership will focus on manufacturing methods intended to increase production capacity and speed while reducing material use and costs per unit. The site is also intended to support work in aerospace, fusion and fission, alongside defence.
INFINITY is developing the 200-acre park to bring full-scale prototyping, digital engineering, testing and validation, skills development and supply-chain collaboration together on one site. Rolls-Royce’s Nuclear Skills Academy already operates there. The companies plan to establish additional capabilities, including hot isostatic pressing, power-beam welding and additive manufacturing.
These processes could help manufacturers produce and test large components in the UK, rather than relying on capacity elsewhere. Rolls-Royce says the new facilities will shorten development cycles and increase control over the manufacture of strategically important parts. The companies also expect the park to give businesses working at high technology-readiness levels better access to facilities and expertise needed to prepare products for highly regulated sectors.
The announcement comes as Rolls-Royce Submarines responds to growing demand for naval nuclear propulsion work. Engineering and Technology Director Lee Warren said the company is increasing its manufacturing output and expects to provide reactors to Australia under the AUKUS agreement. He said the new site would allow Rolls-Royce to maintain focus on delivery at its Raynesway facility in Derby while exploring manufacturing techniques for future nuclear power.
Rolls-Royce Submarines designs, manufactures and supports the pressurised-water reactors that power the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarine fleet. It is supporting the Astute and Dreadnought submarine programmes, supplying reactor plants and related components. The company says it has worked on submarine reactors for more than 65 years; it currently employs more than 5,500 people.
The partnership adds to a wider programme of investment and collaboration around the UK’s submarine industrial base. In December 2025, engineering firm AtkinsRéalis announced a framework agreement worth up to £400 million over five years, with an option to extend by two years, to provide specialist nuclear and engineering support to Rolls-Royce Submarines alongside Frazer-Nash and Assystem. That agreement covers areas including propulsion systems, safety assurance and systems engineering.
The Derby development is also intended to serve sectors beyond defence. UK Fusion Energy, which is responsible for delivering the UK’s first prototype fusion power plant, has separately partnered with INFINITY. That collaboration is expected to help shape the park’s capabilities around the requirements of STEP Fusion, the programme to develop a prototype plant at West Burton in Nottinghamshire.
INFINITY Chief Executive Professor Gary Jones said the company’s aim is to support sovereign manufacture of advanced components and provide new capabilities for UK defence. The project is estimated to create 17,500 skilled jobs in the East Midlands, according to Rolls-Royce. The figure relates to the wider technology-park project; the announcement did not specify how many jobs would be directly attributable to the Rolls-Royce partnership.
The park is planned as a shared industrial hub, bringing together suppliers, universities, skills providers and other partners. Its value to defence will depend on how quickly the planned facilities are built and qualified, and how effectively they can move components from prototype development into regulated production. Rolls-Royce and INFINITY have announced the partnership and intended capabilities, but have not publicly detailed a delivery timetable for the facilities or specific components to be developed.
