Sheffield Forgemasters makes 'monumental' step for production of small nuclear reactors

It said its pioneering industrialisation of Local Electron-Beam Welding (LEBW), means it is now possible to take less than 24 hours to complete four, thick, nuclear-grade welds, a process that up to now has typically required a year of work to complete.

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Professor Jesus Talamantes-Silva, Research, Design and Technology Director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We are delighted to have reached a significant milestone in assembling a nuclear vessel demonstrator, using electron beam welding for the first time at this scale, with 100 per cent success and no defects.”

Dr Michael Blackmore, Senior Development Engineer and Project lead, said: “The implication of this technology within the nuclear industry is monumental, potentially taking high cost welding processes out of the equation.

“Not only does this reduce the need for weld-inspections, because the weld-join replicates the parent material, but it could also dramatically speed up the roll-out of SMR reactors across the UK and beyond, that’s how disruptive the LEBW breakthrough is.”

The company, which was nationalised by the Ministry of Defence in 2021, said the demonstration of LEBW technology's potential opens new horizons for more efficient, low cost and less time-heavy nuclear assemblies.

Dr Jacob Pope, Deveopment Engineer and LEBW machine tool installation lead, added: “We thank the Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for enabling the project through its Nuclear Innovation Program.

"We also thank our esteemed partner, Cambridge Vacuum Engineering, for their invaluable support throughout this endeavour.

"Their remote and on-site assistance played an instrumental role in the success of this milestone, highlighting the collaborative spirit that drives us forward.”

The government’s ambition is for up to a quarter of all UK electricity to come from nuclear power by 2050 and it hopes to have SMRs operational in this country by the mid-2030s.

Construction contracts are due to be awarded to companies this summer.

Unlike conventional nuclear reactors that are built on site, SMRs are smaller, can be made in factories, and could transform how power stations are built by making construction faster and less expensive.