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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News: Nuclear AMRC at the heart of SMR development

The Nuclear AMRC is continuing to work with Westinghouse Electric Company to reduce build lead times for the US group's small modular reactor (SMR).

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.

The Government has pledged funds to develop SMRs in the UK and the Nuclear AMRC is working with the principal technology vendors in support of their drive for a UK small modular reactor and with companies across the UK to help them seize existing opportunities and be ready for the potential of technologies.

SMRs promise to be much more affordable in the UK than the large scale reactors planned for projects like Hinkley Point C, which has struggled to secure investors and has strike prices inflated by the expense of financing the multi billion pound project.

Based in Pennyslvania and now owned by Toshiba, Westinghouse bid to partner with the UK Government to deploy its SMR technology last year – a move that would advance the UK from buyer to global provider of the latest nuclear energy technology.

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Nuclear AMRC engineers are working with Westinghouse and modular construction specialists from Cammell Laird on a new advanced manufacturing study. The study will explore potential design efficiencies which can reduce costs to customers while promoting growth in manufacturing within the UK. It follows an earlier study by the Nuclear AMRC for Westinghouse that showed that the UK has the advanced manufacturing capabilities to effectively manufacture critical systems for SMRs.

Jeff Benjamin, senior vice president for new plants and major projects at Westinghouse, said: "The Westinghouse SMR is an innovative, industry-leading technology that builds upon the company's extensive reactor and fuel technology expertise.

"The Nuclear AMRC has broad experience in design for the manufacture of large, complex parts for safety-critical applications, and its support will help to increase the efficiency of our design, while building on our specialised UK value proposition."

The new study will focus on how the SMR design can allow for greater production efficiency through modular assembly techniques.

Mike Tynan, chief executive officer of the Nuclear AMRC, said: "Greater R&D focus on technologies surrounding SMR manufacture will reduce the risk, minimise the lead times, while significantly optimising cost and quality delivery performance. Design for assembly is one such area of interest which has the potential to significantly reduce construction costs and time, by minimising the amount of labour required on site."

Rolls-Royce, which has outline planning approval for a Rotherham facility to manufacture civil nuclear components, is also in the Government competition for the best value SMR design. The Nuclear AMRC have been working in partnership with its Tier One member as the lead company for the UK nuclear supply chain.

Earlier this year, NuScale Power, an American company pioneering small scale nuclear reactors, announced a new partnership with Sheffield Forgemasters to develop manufacturing techniques for SMRs. Forgemasters is a founder member of the Nuclear AMRC and NuScale signed an agreement to work with the centre in 2014.

Nuclear AMRC website

Images: Nuclear AMRC / Westinghouse

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News: Nuclear AMRC study shows UK capabilities

The UK has the advanced manufacturing capabilities to effectively manufacture critical systems for a small modular reactor (SMR), according to a study by the Nuclear AMRC for Westinghouse Electric Company.

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.

In the Autumn spending review, George Osborne announced new funding to develop SMRs in the UK. The Nuclear AMRC is working with the principal technology vendors in support of their drive for a UK small modular reactor and with companies across the UK to help them seize existing opportunities and be ready for the potential of technologies such as SMRs.

SMRs promise to be much more affordable in the UK than the large scale reactors planned for projects like Hinkley Point C, which has struggled to secure investors and has strike prices inflated by the expense of financing the multi billion pound project.

Based in Pennyslvania and now owned by Toshiba, Westinghouse bid to partner with the UK Government to deploy its SMR technology last year – a move that would advance the UK from buyer to global provider of the latest nuclear energy technology.

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The Nuclear AMRC manufacturing study focused on reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) – one of the largest and most demanding parts of any reactor. Westinghouse's SMR design is a 225 MWe integral pressurised water reactor with all primary components located inside the reactor vessel.

The study determined that Westinghouse's use of UK advanced manufacturing techniques offers a potential 50% reduction in delivery lead times and offers substantial cost savings to SMR manufacturing. The UK's strong nuclear supply chain, as well as Westinghouse's commitment to SMR technology, would promote economic growth and job creation in the UK's nuclear industry.

Jeff Benjamin, Westinghouse senior vice president for new plants and major projects, said: "The ability to locally source the steel, forge, machine and then assemble all of the Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor RPV is a significant finding and builds on our unique offering to the UK government. We are confident that our innovative approach and ability to localise our supply chain and manufacturing in the UK further demonstrates our commitment to developing SMR technology in the UK."

Mike Tynan, chief executive officer of the Nuclear AMRC, added: "The results of this manufacturing study demonstrate the important role that Nuclear AMRC can play in identifying efficiencies within the advanced manufacturing process to significantly reduce capital costs and drive project savings, whilst also highlighting key opportunities for the UK supply chain which can only benefit the UK economy."

Westinghouse has a facility in Preston that is a strategic national asset, employing more than 1,000 staff. It allows for SMR fuel to be manufactured locally, something no other SMR technology provider currently offers.

Westinghouse is in dialogue with a number of UK flagship companies who have offered support for the SMR concept.

Westinghouse website
Nuclear AMRC website

Images: Westinghouse

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