News: Nuclear AMRC opens new modular manufacturing R&D centre

The Nuclear AMRC has has opened its new modular manufacturing R&D centre, at the Birkenhead site of member company Cammell Laird, one of the famous names in British shipbuilding.

With state of the art facilities on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the £25m Nuclear AMRC is a joint initiative with industry, The University of Sheffield and The University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute, and is designed to help build and enhance the UK's civil nuclear new build industry.

Cammell Laird is the largest and most successful ship repair and conversion specialist in the UK and is on a campaign to position itself as a world-leading nuclear industry hub.

The launch marks the start of a research collaboration led by Cammell Laird to develop modular manufacturing techniques to support the UK's nuclear new build programme.

The research factory on the AMP is home to over £30m worth of state-of-the-art machining, welding and inspection facilities, all of which are available for companies to use in collaborative R&D projects.

The new facility expands the Nuclear AMRC's capabilities into modular manufacturing, the initiative that involves the off-site assembly of large-scale complex systems, which are then transported to site for final installation.

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Modular techniques are already widely used in shipbuilding, aerospace and other safety-critical industries. In the nuclear sector, they can significantly reduce construction risk and help deliver new power stations to schedule and cost.

With over 10,000 sq ft of workshop space, the new Merseyside facility will host specialised machining, joining and assembly equipment to develop and prove modular manufacturing techniques for nuclear applications. Work will address modular manufacturing for new reactors of all sizes, as well as the challenges of decommissioning and waste management.

Andrew Storer, managing director of the Nuclear AMRC (pictured, right), said: "Our new Birkenhead facility extends our capabilities into an area of huge interest and importance to the nuclear industry. Modularisation reduces risk in manufacturing and construction, and will help developers build new power stations on schedule and on budget, meeting our national targets for secure, cost-effective, low-carbon electricity generation.

"The manufacturing techniques we will develop at the new facility can also help improve production efficiency and costs in other parts of the nuclear market, for example in the manufacture of large numbers of standardised waste boxes for the decommissioning programme.

"Our Birkenhead facility is the first of a new network of regional supply chain hubs, which will help us provide on-the-ground support to companies of all sizes across the UK. Birkenhead is ideally placed for the established nuclear cluster in North West England as well as the Wylfa new build site in North Wales. We want to help companies based in this region to become Fit For Nuclear and win work in the nuclear sector at home and worldwide."

Nuclear AMRC website
Cammell Laird website

Images: Nuclear AMRC

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News: Nuclear AMRC announces new partnership with Cammell Laird

The Nuclear AMRC has announced a new partnership with one of the famous names in British shipbuilding, Cammell Laird, and is to open a new facility on Merseyside.

With state of the art facilities on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the £25m Nuclear AMRC is a joint initiative with industry, The University of Sheffield and The University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute, and is designed to help build and enhance the UK's civil nuclear new build industry.

Cammell Laird is the largest and most successful ship repair and conversion specialist in the UK and is on a campaign to position itself as a world-leading nuclear industry hub.

The new facility within Cammell Laird's Birkenhead site, will provide a base for the Nuclear AMRC in the North West, and be used to develop and industrialise technology and knowhow to service the nuclear industry.

Jonathan Brown, managing director of Cammell Laird's energy division, said: "We are hugely excited to announce this new venture with the Nuclear AMRC, which will also see Cammell Laird become a Tier One member of the Nuclear AMRC. The development centre will thrust Cammell Laird forward as the leading UK industrial manufacturer developing expertise in off-site module build in partnership with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult.

"We are looking to research a wide range of areas supporting the assembly, commissioning and transportation of modules of up to 5000 tonnes, where Cammell Laird benefits from its coastal location.

"Working with the Nuclear AMRC, we will invest in our facilities and our skilled workforce and supply chain to meet the demands of modular new build. Looking forward, we will also target the export market through a strategy built on working with partners and countries around the world, focused on the exploitation of the benefits of modular construction."

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Andrew Storer, managing director of the Nuclear AMRC, said: "We're delighted to welcome Cammell Laird to the Nuclear AMRC network. Our new facility in Birkenhead will focus on developing modular manufacturing methods for new reactors of all sizes, drawing on Cammell Laird's expertise in modular shipbuilding and a host of innovative technologies to significantly reduce costs and lead times for nuclear new build. It also gives us a base in the North West, the core region for the UK's nuclear industry, allowing us to work more closely with the regional supply chain and the development sites in Cumbria and North Wales.

"The Nuclear AMRC is dedicated to helping UK manufacturers win work in the nuclear sector, and expanding our research capabilities to tackle the challenges of advanced modular build will deliver real benefits to the UK supply chain. We look forward to working with Cammell Laird and other module manufacturers to develop new technical capabilities and help them compete globally on cost, quality and delivery."

The Nuclear AMRC helps UK companies win work in the civil nuclear sector – in new build, operations and decommissioning. It supports supply chains and manufacturing innovation and is already working with the principal technology vendors in support of their drive for a UK small modular reactor.

Camell Laird is working on a new partnership with the American nuclear power plant manufacturer (and Nuclear AMRC Tier 1 member) Westinghouse and the Nuclear AMRC, examining small modular reactors.

Brown, who previously led the nuclear new build and projects group at another Nuclear AMRC Tier 1 member, Rolls-Royce, added: "Cammell Laird offers reliable, cost effective and flexible solutions to multi billion pound industries crying out for experienced support. Cammell Laird has shown, in the maritime industry, it can be that anchor of system engineering, managing quality and providing schedule certainty. It takes responsibility for complex build projects such as the £150m Sir David Attenborough polar ship delivering the engineering, manufacture, skills development and quality records.

"Working with the Nuclear AMRC we further develop our modular expertise, drawing on its formidable nuclear and wider academic expertise through its links with the University of Sheffield and the University of Manchester to make Cammell Laird's offering even more compelling."

Nuclear AMRC website
Cammell Laird website

Images: Cammell Laird / Westinghouse

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