Funding confirmed for £2.7 million power generation research programme

SFIL has won an increasing number of power station contracts, with current orders for generator and turbine rotors stretching beyond 2011. These forgings, which typically weigh between 75-95 tonnes, have to meet very specified and refined standards, to operate in extremely high temperatures. Yorkshire Forward has approved a grant, of up to half the project cost, to help fund the technological development of these components at its newly created research and development facility, at SFIL's Brightside Lane base, in Sheffield. The two-phase project, with funding matched by SFIL, will focus on the cleanliness of the steelmaking process through innovative technology, plus research and development into ingots and forging, opening up access to markets valued in excess of £200 million per year. The first stage of the project looks at the steelmaking process with the aim of dramatically improving steel cleanliness. The second stage of the project will concentrate on ingot and forging research, to develop the most suitable technology, in terms of tooling, to manufacture these types of larger rotors. SFIL has also been investigating, with various customers, the market for turbine units for nuclear application. Typically forgings, in this sector, weight up to 250 tonne, and this research project is a key step in the strategy to extend its business capability. The company places great importance on research and development, spending between five and ten per cent of its profits on R&D companywide, compared to a national average of three per cent. Capital investment currently sits at £30.1million from 2006, with an additional £2.62 million in the quarter to June 2009. Image: Sheffield Forgemasters group research and development director Dr Jesus Talamantes-Silva, with chief executive Dr Graham Honeyman.