SNP Ban On ‘Munitions’ Funds Puts Scottish Shipbuilding On The Line
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
The president of Rolls-Royce submarines says plans for a world-class welding centre on the Clyde are at risk of being cancelled within days
These three paragraphs add more details to the story.
Ambitious plans to reverse a historic decline in Scottish shipbuilding are at risk after a £2.5 million taxpayer grant was axed due to an SNP ban on “munitions” funding.
A plan to build a specialist welding centre on the banks of the Clyde is now in grave doubt after Scottish Enterprise, the national economic development agency, was accused of reneging on a pledge to fund a building for the world-class facility.
Rolls-Royce, which is ready to support the project by providing £11 million worth of specialist equipment, expressed “dismay” at the news, saying the project had been classified as a “munitions” scheme solely on the basis that it would “support the construction of naval vessels”.
Given the experience of the Scottish Government in building ferries is documented in this Wikipedia entry, which is entitled Scottish Ferry Fiasco, the SNP must know something about how not to build ships.
The comments from readers of the Times Article are scathing, with many coming from those with Scottish names.
Welding And Nuclear Power
It doesn’t mention the other big use for welding in this article and that is in the manufacture of nuclear reactors. In fact one of the members of the Rolls-Royce consortium, that will build their small modular nuclear reactors is The Welding Institute – No prizes for guessing what they do!
Does that mean that Scotland won’t have anything to do with small modular nuclear reactors? Either in their manufacture or use.
This article in New Civil Engineer is entitled UK Plans New Nuclear Plant In Scotland Despite Scottish Government Opposition.
So if the Scottish Government wants nothing to do with making expensive, quality vessels for the nuclear industry, Rolls-Royce would surely be better building the welding centre in an area of the UK that would appreciate it.
Scots In High Positions Of Power
I like Scotland and the Scots and possibly, at one time, with all the North Sea Oil and Gas, I could have thought about relocating North of the Border. But I’m very glad I didn’t!
It does seem to me though, that when some Scots get to high positions of power, that they lose all sense of reason.
I would nominate.
- Fred the Shred
- The SNP
- That half-Scot, who was lucky enough to be elected US President twice.
There must be a few others.
Nuclear Deal Gives Rolls-Royce £2.5bn Boost
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
UK engineers selected to build a fleet of mini-nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic
These are the first two introductory paragraphs.
Almost £2.5 billion was added to the market value of Rolls-Royce after it was selected to build a fleet of mini-nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic, the first deal of its kind in Europe.
Rolls was selected as the preferred supplier for the development and construction of a number of small modular reactors by the Czech government from a shortlist of seven companies. The exact number of SMRs due to be delivered will be announced in the next few weeks.
Strangely, despite the announcement having a positive movement on the company’s share price, there was no corporate press release. but the Rolls-Royce subsidiary; Rolls Royce SMR did publish this press release, which is entitled Rolls-Royce SMR Named As Preferred Supplier To Build In Czechia.
These four paragraphs are the complete release.
Rolls-Royce SMR CEO, Chris Cholerton, said: “We welcome today’s landmark announcement by the Government of the Czech Republic and the Czech State utility, ČEZ Group, naming Rolls-Royce SMR as their preferred supplier for the development and construction of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
“This decision, to select Rolls-Royce SMR from a list of seven potential SMR technology providers, follows a rigorous evaluation process by ČEZ Group. Discussions are ongoing to finalise contract terms and the final agreements are subject to customary regulatory clearances. Details of the agreement will be published at signing.
“This important strategic partnership further strengthens Rolls-Royce SMR’s position as Europe’s leading SMR technology, and will put CEZ, Rolls-Royce SMR and its existing shareholders at the forefront of SMR deployment.
“Rolls-Royce SMRs will be a source of clean, affordable, reliable electricity for Czechia – creating jobs, enabling decarbonisation, reducing the reliance on imported energy and supporting the global effort to reach net zero.”
These are my thoughts.
Rolls-Royce And Small Nuclear Reactors
The Wikipedia entry for Rolls-Royce Submarines, who build the nuclear engines for submarines, indicates that the subsidiary was formed in 1954.
The first nuclear submarine with a Rolls-Royce engine was HMS Valiant, which was commissioned in 1966, according to its Wikipedia entry.
Valiant was powered, until it was decommissioned in 1994, by a Rolls-Royce PWR or Pressurised Water Reactor, that is described in this Wikipedia entry.
Since Valiant, the UK has built nearly forty nuclear submarines for the Royal Navy, and all have been or will be powered by that original Rolls-Royce PWR or derivatives of the design.
The next nuclear submarine project for Rolls-Royce Submarines, will be the nuclear power unit for the SSN-AUKUS, which is described in this Wikipedia entry, which describes the submarine like this in the first paragraph.
The SSN-AUKUS, also known as the SSN-A, is a planned class of nuclear-powered fleet submarine (SSN) intended to enter service with the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy in the late 2030s and Royal Australian Navy in the early 2040s. The class will replace the UK’s Astute-class and Australia’s Collins-class submarines.
The Wikipedia entry for the Rolls-Royce PWR, says this about the power unit for the SSN-AUKUS.
Rolls Royce is building the reactor for SSN-AUKUS, which may be the PWR3, or a derivative.
The PWR3 is the latest version of the original 1966 design.
If you fly on the latest Airbus A350, the aircraft is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, which are the most powerful engines in the Trent family of turbofan engines.
The Trent engine was developed from the RB-211 engine of the 1960s. The RB-211 may have bankrupted the company, but it later provided the cash-flow for the world-class company we see today.
I don’t think Rolls-Royce need have any fears about using sixty years of nuclear reactor technology to build the Rolls-Royce SMR.
Rolls-Royce And The US Department Of Defense Nuclear Microreactor Program
I discuss this in Rolls-Royce To Play Key Role In US Department Of Defense Nuclear Microreactor Program.
Surely to be involved in a key US program, Rolls-Royce’s offering must be tip-top.
Will The Czechs Play Any Part In The Manufacture?
This article in the Financial Times, is entitled Rolls-Royce Wins Pioneering Deal To Build Mini Nuclear pPlants In Czech Republic.
A paragraph sounds very much like active participation to me.
Between the Two World Wars, Skoda Works in Czechoslovakia, was according to its Wikipedia entry, was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates of the 20th century.
This paragraph from the Wikipedia entry describes their history after the First World War.
By World War I, Škoda Works had become the largest arms manufacturer in Austria-Hungary, supplying the Austro-Hungarian army with mountain guns, mortars and machine guns, including the Škoda M1909, and the ships of the Austro-Hungarian navy with heavy guns. After the end of the war and the creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic, the company, previously focused on manufacturing of armaments, diversified and became a major manufacturer of locomotives, aircraft, ships, machine tools, steam turbines, equipment for power utilities, among other industrial products.
The company sounded just like a Czechoslovakian version of Vickers.
I believe that as a teenager, I heard a story, that the armour plate for the British battleship; Duke of York, was smuggled out of Czechoslovakia, under the noses of the Nazis. I can’t find the story on the Internet, but Czech armour seemed to be of high quality, between the two wars.
This paragraph from the Wikipedia entry describes the history of Skoda Works after World War II.
After World War II, Škoda Works was nationalized and split into several companies by the newly communist government in Czechoslovakia. Important products during the Communist era include nuclear reactors and trolley buses.
I don’t think they made nuclear trolley buses, but they might have had the capability.
What happened to the knowledge about all the steelworking needed to make nuclear reactors?
This further paragraph gives an indication. that lack of modern designs killed the business.
The factory concentrated on markets in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. The company produced a wide range of heavy machinery such as nuclear reactors and locomotives. A lack of updates to its product designs and infrastructure considerably weakened the company’s competitive position and its brand.
Note.
- Can Rolls-Royce and their partner; The Welding Institute (TWI), provide modern designs and techniques to build the parts of reactors for modern SMRs in Czechia?
- The Welding Institute, which is based just outside of Cambridge, describes themselves as the leading engineering institution supporting welding and joining professionals with welding, joining and allied technologies.
- Czechia is also in the heart of Europe and components would be easily shipped by rail or road to European construction sites.
- Wikipedia also says that a lot of post-Soviet trams and trolley busses, were made by Skoda, so the same must count for something.
There will be much worse places to build components for SMRs than Czechia.
Will The Czechs Help With The Soviet Reactors?
If the Czechs built the reactors, they will have a lot of answers about things like.
- Where the Soviet reactors are?
- When will the Soviet reactors need replacing?
- How were they transported?
- How were they assembled?
- What will be the difficult parts to take apart?
Choosing the Czechs for their knowledge as partners seems a good idea.
Conclusion
The Czechs would appear to be good partners for Rolls-Royce.
Electron Beam Welded Foundation To Debut At Dogger Bank In Late 2023
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
A collaboration between SSE Renewables, Sif Group, Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE), and TWI, has resulted in the first-ever electron beam welded section to be incorporated in an offshore wind turbine monopile foundation.
This is the first paragraph.
The resulting can was incorporated into a monopile transition piece in January 2023 and is scheduled to be installed offshore as part of a foundation in the second phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, located more than 130 kilometres off the Northeast coast of England, in late 2023.
And this paragraph details the advantages.
The technology – developed by CVE – has been shown to weld monopiles at least 25 times faster than current methods, whilst using 90 per cent less energy, costing 88 per cent less, and producing 97 per cent less CO2 emissions than SAW methods, the partners said.
Everybody thinks of biotech and electronics, when they think of Cambridge, but this is two Cambridge companies; Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) and The Welding Institute (TWI) innovating at the heaviest end of mechanical engineering.
Note.
- Cambridge Vacuum Engineering has a comprehensive web site.
- The technology is called Ebflow and is described on this web page.
- The Welding Institute has a comprehensive web site.
When I lived near Cambridge, I used to play real tennis at the Cambridge University Real Tennis Club. One of the guys I played against was a cousin of JRR Tolkien and he sold vacuum engineering machines to the world. He had some fascinating tales about dealing with the Russians, where signed copies of his cousin’s books made excellent bribes.
The Anonymous Widower 