Italian firm Ansaldo Nucleare is teaming up with Nuvia and Cammell Laird to design and build heavy modules and components for the UK’s new civil nuclear programme.
A new partnership agreement sees Ansaldo join Nuvia and Cammell Laird in an alliance they set up to enter the nuclear module market in August 2010.
The partners propose to build super modules for AP1000 and EPR nuclear power plants, initially for the UK market. Construction will take place in an off-site weather protected construction hall and sea access load-out facilities at Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead, which is capable of handling modules up to 5000 tonne.
The partnership says that the innovative approach will enable them to design and build larger units that previously possible in a weather-protected factory. This will ultimately reduce construction cost, improve quality, safety and delivery performance as well as reducing onsite construction by a considerable factor.
Ansaldo brings 30 years experience in the nuclear power sector with capabilities ranging from plant design to maintenance and decommissioning. In particular, the company is the designer of the major modules for the Westinghouse AP1000 plant.
“Ansaldo Nucleare has added an important new dimension to the partnership Nuvia and Cammell Laird formed last year, as they have patented module designs together with operational capability and significant design capacity,” said John Syvret, CEO of Cammell Laird.
Roberto Adinolfi, CEO of Ansaldo Nucleare, said that his company has been “a European pioneer in the development of third generation advanced designs… supporting Westinghouse from the embryonic stages of their design of AP1000.”
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