A new international deal has been struck, focusing on the Berkeley Science and Technology Park.

Western Gateway's proposal for a low carbon energy park at its Severn Edge site has had a major boost this week.

Following the announcement of a £10 million investment in the site by Chiltern Vital Group (CVG) working with Rolls Royce SMR and University of Bristol, the organisation has announced a new partnership with Polish industrial group, Industria S.A and Poland's Central Hydrogen Valley.

This partnership seeks to develop low carbon energy sources to help the world reach net zero and comes with significant opportunity for new skills, jobs, export contracts and investment into the Western Gateway region.

Berkeley Science and Technology Park has been at the forefront of science and nuclear technology for over 40 years.

Berkeley and nearby Oldbury are amongst several nationally prioritised sites which have the potential to host multiple small modular reactors (SMR) and are part of the UK Government's SMR siting process, led by Great British Nuclear.

The news comes on top of the Chancellor's announcement in the budget that Great British Nuclear, a Government body created to drive forward new nuclear generating capacity in the UK, will be buying land in Oldbury, South Gloucestershire, and North Wales for £160 million.

A single SMR has been estimated to be able to power one million homes for 60 years, whilst a UK wide rollout of the technology could create 40,000 new jobs.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire County Council and Western Gateway vice chair, said: "It is great to see this international deal focusing on Berkeley.

"This is exactly what the Western Gateway's Severn Edge site was designed to enable. Our vision is of a site which can help develop new skills and clean energy jobs for our communities.

"Severn Edge is ready to be seen as a world leader in new SMR technology and we look forward to working with the UK Government, Rolls Royce SMR and Chiltern Vital Group to deliver a new generation of low carbon energy."

Alan Woods, Rolls-Royce SMR's director of strategy and business development, said: "This is an extremely positive step forward for Rolls-Royce SMR and we are delighted to see two of our close partners agree to collaborate on their efforts to bring our technology to fruition.

"This is an exciting development. Both CVG and Industria are highly capable and credible organisations, able to deliver low-carbon energy projects powered by Rolls-Royce SMRs. This announcement further opens the opportunity for CVG to support and enable Great British Nuclear to deliver cutting-edge technology by the early to mid-2030s."

Szczepan Ruman, president of the management board of INDUSTRIA, said: "Chiltern Vital Group is a very important partner for us, because of the group's UK and international experience in creating and delivering large scale industrial technology clusters, which will support the development of Central Hydrogen Valley and the deployment of Rolls-Royce SMRs within the valley."

Chris Turner, chief executive of CVG, said: "It is a great honour for CVG to be signing this strategically important collaboration agreement with Industria S.A. today in Poland. SMR technology can only be deployed on the scale required through long term public/ private and international partnerships.

"We are very fortunate in having leading public/ private sector partners in our major UK projects, which include the Western Gateway and Rolls Royce SMR on the proposed Berkeley/ Oldbury Severn Edge investment zone project."

Ian Mean, Gloucestershire director of Business West, has welcomed the news.