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Cambridge Vac Engineering
IGP Priority
Advanced Turbine Technology
Support received
Funding support
Innovative welding method for large steel structures in offshore wind
Welding technology Company headquartered in Cambridgeshire.
60-year history of welding in automotive, aerospace, nuclear, defence and electronics.
Looking to establish electron beam welding technology (Ebflow) to the fabrication of large steel structures in offshore wind – with potential for significant cost and energy savings.
Business profile
Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) is the only Company based in the UK that manufacture electron beam welders – a technology that allows for 20-30x faster fabrication of large steel structures compared to conventional methods, with lower energy use and carbon emissions. This application has already proven successful in the energy industry, with CVE applying electron beam welding to the development of nuclear reactor vessels.
Ebflow electron beam welding offers 20-30x faster welding for large steel structures than conventional welding methods (e.g. slow arc welding).
Up to 20% lower cost than conventional welding.
Up to 90% lower energy use and carbon emissions than conventional welding.
In 2020, OWGP provided grant funding to accelerate the adoption of Ebflow for offshore wind fabrication in the UK, where it has potential to offer developers and OEMs significant cost and schedule savings for increasingly large offshore wind turbine components.
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Allowed CVE to develop and modify their Ebflow electron beam welding solution for the fabrication of offshore wind foundations and towers.
Paired CVE with Global Energy Group to trial the technology, and integrate Ebflow welding into their planned UK offshore wind tower facility.
Commercial partnership and ongoing support from OWGP is paving the way for accelerated commercial deployment in the UK.
Before
CVE has a 60-year history in the manufacture of welding equipment with numerous applications. They are now looking at the opportunities presented by the energy transition – with key applications for vacuum welding in offshore wind, electric vehicles and semiconductors.
What they say
“
Ebflow is a disruptive technology that has been in development for 10 years. It is a major breakthrough in thick section, large structure welding and it has applications in a wide range of industries. The OWGP grant, in conjunction with the RapidWeld project, has the potential to provide a significant step towards the Offshore Wind Sector Deal’s ambition of increasing the UK content of UK offshore wind farms to 60% by 2030. We are excited about the collaboration with GEG, who have demonstrated willingness to adopt new advanced manufacturing processes and are perfectly positioned to integrate this technology into their newly installed manufacturing set-up. Throughout the ongoing programme, we’ve had excellent support from OWGP. They’ve been very flexible in the approach allowing us to modify our program to meet industry requirements.
CHRIS PUNSHON, Cambridge Vacuum Engineering
Head of New Energy Applications
