News: Nuclear AMRC plans submitted

Plans have been submitted for the £25m Nuclear AMRC building on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham.

The Nuclear AMRC will provide a focal point for the bulk of the UK civil nuclear manufacturing industry supply chain, ensuring that manufacturers in the UK have the capability and capacity required to compete for nuclear new build in the UK and globally, from skills training to research and development.

The Centre will be led by the University of Sheffield in partnership with the University of Manchester and with Rolls-Royce as the lead industrial partner. Partners include Areva, Westinghouse, NAMTEC, DavyMarkham and Sheffield Forgemasters Engineering Ltd.

Designed by Bond Bryan Architects, the 8,000 sq m building uses the same concept as the current AMRC building, but is twice as big.

The building is being built to high BREEAM environmental quality standards, including significant renewable energy capacity. The core of the building will be almost 6,000 sq m of workshop space, with specialised research areas for machining, robotics and assembly; welding, firing and heat treatment; cladding technology; and non-destructive evaluation.

Workshop equipment will be tailored to meet industry requirements, and will include large mill turn and machining centres customised to requirements of the nuclear supply chain; submerged arc welding facilities; and a range of robots and manipulators.

In order to accommodate the large components that make up new nuclear power stations, the workspace will have a 10m to hook height and craneage able to take 50 tonnes.

The building will also feature accommodation over three stories at the front of the building, including laboratory and technical support space, a VR cave for virtual assembly research and training, plus office space and secure meeting rooms.

There will be public exhibition space by the entrance, to host a "Nuclear in the Community" exhibition to promote the industry and employment opportunities, for which the Nuclear AMRC has secured extra grant funding.

The application states that: "The Nuclear AMRC will employ an additional 75 people and results of the research carried out in the centre and used by regional companies will create over 400 jobs and safeguard 900. Gross GVA will increase by a minimum of £55m. Employment opportunities will be available to all sections of the community and the highly successful AMRC apprentice programme will be extended to the Nuclear AMRC."

The plans are currently on display at the AMRC Factory of the Future.

Construction is scheduled to complete in late 2011.

Nuclear AMRC website

Images: Nuclear AMRC / Bond Bryan