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Yorkshire to become hub of UK’s nuclear redevelopment

Yorkshire and the North West of England are to become the hub of the UK Government’s efforts to start a renaissance in the country’s nuclear industry.

On a visit to the region yesterday, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson announced that the region will be designated a Nuclear Low Carbon Economic Area, along with plans for a new research centre and a Rolls-Royce manufacturing facility for nuclear power station parts.

The Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) will be located at Catcliffe in South Yorkshire and will be run by the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester, with Rolls-Royce as the lead industrial partner.

The research centre, which will open by the end of 2011, will receive £15 million in support from the Government and a further £10 million from development agency Yorkshire Forward.

Lord Mandelson also announced an £8 million boost for the University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute.

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce has yet to announce the location of the new factory, but it promises to lead to the creation of more than 300 jobs in the region.

“The civil nuclear sector is one of the key low carbon industries where the UK has the potential for job creation, economic growth and engineering and manufacturing excellence,” said Lord Mandelson.

The Government’s revamped nuclear energy programme could create over 4500 jobs over the next 25 years and generate more than £1 billion a year for the industry.

“This investment, and others like it, puts the region at the very heart of the UK’s energy sector and cements our position as a centre of excellence for manufacturing,” commented Tom Riordan, chief executive of Yorkshire Forward.

For further information:
www.berr.gov.uk/
www.berr.gov.uk/files/file52002.pdf
www.namrc.co.uk
www.yorkshire-forward.com/
www.sheffield.ac.uk/
www.manchester.ac.uk/
www.rolls-royce.com/

04 December 2009

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