Partnership aims to reduce cost and lead-times on SMR manufacturing

These efficiencies can provide important reductions in costs to customers while promoting growth in manufacturing within the UK, an important part of Westinghouse’s SMR programme.

Westinghouse senior vice president, New Plants and Major Projects, Jeff Benjamin said: “The Westinghouse SMR is an innovative, industry leading technology that builds upon the company’s extensive reactor and fuel technology expertise.”

Benjamin added: “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.”

Earlier this year Nuclear AMRC conducted its first advanced manufacturing research study on the Westinghouse SMR’s Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV), one of the largest and most demanding parts of any reactor. The study concluded that Westinghouse’s design had the potential to be efficiently manufactured in the UK, a significant growth market for Westinghouse.

Chief executive officer, Nuclear AMRC Mike Tynan said: “Greater R&D focus on technologies surrounding SMR manufacture, from follow-up studies such as this, will reduce the risk, minimise the lead times, whilst significantly optimising cost and quality delivery performance.”

Tynan added: “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.”