Government offers £80
million support to boost creation of UK civil nuclear supply chain
Business Secretary
Lord Mandelson today announced a package of measures to strengthen
the UK’s civil nuclear supply chain, at the centre of which is an
offer of a £80 million loan to propel a successful UK manufacturer
to the forefront of world markets.
The decision to offer support to Sheffield Forgemasters is part
of a strategic intervention to develop the nuclear supply chain
able to meet the demand of the next generation of new nuclear
power stations to be built in the UK and to compete for orders worldwide.
Today’s loan offer, together with participation in the project
from Westinghouse, the nuclear power company, will enable
Sheffield Forgemasters to build a major new manufacturing facility
for ultra heavy forgings for civil nuclear power and other
markets. This will make the company the second only in the world
with necessary nuclear accreditation able to make the very largest
forgings required to make the critical components required for the
global civil nuclear industry.
Lord Mandelson said:
“This is not just help for one company. Today we’re announcing a
willingness to invest that will make the UK a leading provider in
the nuclear and the low carbon supply chain.
“Our high value manufacturing, knowledge base and highly skilled
workforce mean with the right investment, like today’s, the UK can
win a huge amount of business in this growth sector. This is
Government and industry working together to build the success of
British manufacturing. This will help to realise the potential of
our industrial base to be world leading, export led, and creating
jobs and value here at home.”
Today’s offer follows last year’s announcement of a Nuclear
Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in south Yorkshire, which
will help UK civil nuclear manufactures develop world class
manufacturing techniques and cost competitiveness, plus the
creation of a Low Carbon Economic Area in civil nuclear in the
North West and Yorkshire region. Together these will create an
international region of excellence in the civil nuclear supply
chain. Currently the UK is able to supply around 50 per cent of
the plant and equipment for a new nuclear programme in the UK but
with investment this could increase to 70 per cent.
Business Minister Pat McFadden said:
“We are a country that believes in making things and this
investment could be very important for manufacturing in the UK. It
will place Britain in a much stronger position to develop the
nuclear supply chain which has benefits not just in the UK market
but potentially in exports too as many countries build more
nuclear power stations in the years to come. It is a strategic
investment to help Britain build a lower carbon manufacturing economy.”
The Government has today also committed to co-fund the delivery
of up to 1,000 apprenticeships per year in the nuclear energy sector.
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change said:
“Moving to a low carbon economy is crucial to tackling climate
change and ensuring our energy security. And it’s a transition
that provides opportunities to boost, jobs, skills and investment
in Britain.
“The support we are providing for Sheffield Forgemasters, and our
commitment to boosting apprenticeships in nuclear, show our
determination to support the industries of the future.”
The offer announced today will enable Sheffield Forgemasters to
build a 15,000 tonne press and finishing facility which can
produce the ultra-large forgings such as reactor pressure vessels
that are integral to modern civil nuclear reactors. Currently
these can only be produced in Japan for the global market. This
will create around 180 direct highly skilled jobs in the long term
and many more during the construction phase. Significantly as the
largest parts required by the civil nuclear industry can be
purchased from the UK following this offer of a loan, the rest of
the UK civil nuclear manufacturing industry also stands to gain as
the global nuclear reactor design companies will start to look to
the UK to purchase the other components for nuclear new build and
re-fit for build in Europe and beyond. This stands to create
thousands more jobs in the wider UK civil nuclear manufacturing industry.
- ENDS -
Notes to editors
1. Government and Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited
have reached a conditional agreement in principle whereby
Government will provide a £80m loan to the company for the
building of a 15,000 tonne press and finishing workshop. This will
be combined with private finance, including support from
Westinghouse. Completion of the deal will be subject to due
diligence, state aid clearance with the European Commission and
satisfactory finalisation of funding arrangements with other third parties.
2. A report published by the Nuclear Industry Association
estimates that the UK supply chain currently has the capability to
supply around 50% of the plant and equipment for a new nuclear
programme in the UK.. With some investment in facilities and
training the UK could supply around 70% of the different
components needed. New civil nuclear build as well as the
construction of CCS power plants are going to be a growth area in
the coming decades, as countries around the world look to provide
low carbon energy. This investment will put the UK at the centre
of the global supply chain.
3. The 15,000 tonne press and finishing workshop would enable
Sheffield Forgemasters to produce the largest of the forgings
needed for nuclear power stations as well as the largest
components for other industries such as oil and gas, carbon
capture and storage, marine and hydro-electric.
4. The new capability to produce ultra-heavy forgings for civil
nuclear reactors will make Sheffield Forgemasters one of only two
or three companies in the world capable of producing these
forgings.
5. Currently one company has a near-monopoly on supply, and has a
full order book for some years ahead. A new British company in
this market will be good for British manufacturing and good for
the civil nuclear market. It will create more flexibility to meet
demand, and provide huge export growth potential for the UK.
6. Sheffield Forgemasters are a founder member of the Nuclear
Advanced Manufacturing Centre (NAMRC), which was announced in the
Low Carbon Industrial Strategy last year, and is being led by
Sheffield and Manchester Universities. The Centre will help
manufacturing companies swiftly acquire the skills and capability,
and the accreditation required to supply components to the nuclear
industry. Over time, its R&D activities will help increase
reduce costs and increase the productivity of the UK supply chain.
7. Funding is coming from the £950 million Government's
Strategic Investment Fund (SIF). It was created to invest in the
UK's basic capabilities for industrial innovation, job
creation and growth in a highly competitive global economy.
8. As part of our plans to deliver an additional 35,000 advanced
and higher Apprenticeships to young adults aged 19 to 30,
Government has committed to co-fund the delivery of up to 1,000
Apprenticeships per year in the Nuclear Energy sector. This is in
line with the Cogent report Next Generation Skills for New Build
Nuclear. There is an established Apprenticeship framework in
Decommissioning, although some new higher level frameworks will be
needed, and we expect to be able to provide pump-priming funding
for those.
9. This commitment is contingent on employers themselves
generating demand for skills in this area through Apprenticeships,
developing the necessary infrastructure, including frameworks and
qualifications, and the capacity of colleges, providers and
universities to deliver the necessary training.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Clare Keen
Phone: 020 7215 5971
Clare.Keen@bis.gsi.gov.uk