Green Light for U.K.'s Largest Forging Project

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Planning permission has been granted for the first stage in building the U.K.'s largest open-die forging press in Sheffield.

Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited, a key supplier to the country's civil nuclear, maritime, defense, offshore oil, gas and renewables sectors, is to build a 12,700-square-meter structure that will house a new 13,000-tonne press, as well as offices and a water pumping station. A target date of 2025 has been set for the completion of works, when the new forging press will be commissioned. It will replace the company's existing 10,000-tonne press, which is capable of forgings up to 330 tonnes. It was installed in the 1950s and upgraded in the 1980s.

"Securing planning permission for our new heavy forge line is a true landmark in the company's history and will see work accelerate across the site as we move into 2023," explained Gareth Barker, chief operating officer. "In the early part of 2022, we undertook a major logistical exercise to ship the new press from Japan and place it in safe storage in the U.K.. The new facility will significantly improve our throughput of large, complex forgings and will enable us to push the envelope in terms of forging techniques and processes, as well as improving accuracy and reducing downtime."

Sheffield Forgemasters was acquired by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2021 after a number of years of financial difficulties brought about by increased competition from cheaper countries including China and India, as well the loss of orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The MoD purchased the company to secure supply of key parts for the Royal Navy's ships and submarines. Part of the deal included an investment of up to £400 million (US$483 million) in the company over a 10-year period.

The company expects to play a key role in the emerging small modular reactor (SMR) sector and the rollout of demonstration fusion plants. It is working with Canada's General Fusion to create a critical ring component for its planned demonstration plant. This will inform the next stage of the project, to create a thick-walled fusion vessel designed to withstand the extreme high-temperatures and compressive forces needed to create fusion energy. The trial ring will match the 11 rings planned for the fusion demonstration machine. The company has forged a large steel ingot in the current press into a donut shape with a diameter of just over three meters. The ingot will subsequently be rolled and expanded into a larger, thinner ring, spanning 7.6 meters in diameter.

It has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) (Wilmington, North Carolina) in support of the potential deployment of the BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) in the U.K.

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