The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has announced an award of £37.1 million to the University of Sheffield’s Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC), who are working in partnership with Rolls-Royce as the lead company for the UK Nuclear supply chain.
The Regional Growth Fund is designed to support a ‘programme of supplier development and manufacturing research and development to create value in the UK that would otherwise migrate overseas.’
The Nuclear AMRC has been awarded the funds – subject to the usual due diligence - to support its large-scale programme of supplier development and manufacturing research in partnership with key industrial members. The programme focuses on the Civil Nuclear new-build industry, but has broad applicability across the Nuclear value chain and other industries in the Energy sector.
Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Professor Keith Ridgway, said: “We are delighted with the announcement of this very important support from the Regional Growth Fund and the understanding from the Government about just how vital this work is to the UK economy. The programme we are operating at the Nuclear AMRC is ambitious and high-impact when compared to other supplier development initiatives, providing strong support for UK suppliers with aspirations to address the global Civil Nuclear new build opportunity, and creating process technology and intellectual property that will enable export-led growth and long-term competitive advantage for UK supply chains.
“This is a vital opportunity for British manufacturing companies, and we want to support the supply chain in developing the skills to operate in this high value market, in the same way as we have so successfully worked together in relation to aerospace. It is believed that this market could be worth more than £500 billion over the next ten years.”
