Holtec, Sheffield Forgemasters team up on SMR forgings

Monday, 13 February 2023

The MoU - signed late last year - will see Sheffield Forgemasters develop the design of Holtec's SMR-160 components to identify the best routes to manufacture.

"This MoU complements a broader body of work that we are undertaking for the UK's future civil nuclear programme, with SMRs as a key element, alongside larger nuclear power plants and the real possibility of fusion power," said Dominic Ashmore, Head of Strategy and Business Development – Clean Energy at Sheffield Forgemasters. "We'll work with Holtec to jointly develop the design for manufacture and purchase specifications for specific forgings, with specific attention on providing components which reduce the required machining, assembly, welding, and in-service inspection requirements for those components."

Holtec intends to deploy a 5 GW fleet of SMR-160s in the UK by 2050 to bring reliable and affordable electricity to 9 million homes, with first operations planned for the early 2030s.

"We are delighted to partner with Sheffield Forgemasters to further manufacturing routes for key forgings required for this project," said Rick Springman, Senior Vice President of International Projects and Executive Committee member at Holtec.

Sheffield Forgemasters' MoU with Holtec follows similar agreements with three other SMR developers. In July 2016, Sheffield Forgemasters and NuScale Power announced they will work together to develop the manufacturing techniques required for the future deployment of NuScale's SMR in the UK. In December 2021, it signed an MoU with Rolls-Royce SMR to jointly explore commercial mechanisms for a long-term collaboration on the supply of forgings to the Rolls-Royce UK SMR fleet. In September last year, it signed an MoU with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy to cooperate in support of the potential deployment of the BWRX-300 SMR in the UK.

"The latest MoU positions the company at the apex of the UK's manufacturing supply chain for the SMR market and builds on its long history of supplying components into civil nuclear projects across the globe," Sheffield Forgemasters said.