Local firm scoops coveted engineering award

A specialist welding company based in Waterbeach, Cambridge, has won a top national award.

Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE), a specialist in power beam welding technologies, won the ‘Manufacturing Technology Innovation’ award at the Engineering & Manufacturing Awards 2024 for its Ebflow™ technology.

The national award, which celebrates disruptive technologies within the sector, was presented at a ceremony at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, in early September.

Ebflow, an advanced welding technology developed by CVE, is increasingly recognised for the part it is playing in the move to Net Zero.

A spokesman says the technology is making a ‘significant impact’ across the energy sector where it is proven to accelerate the construction of essential infrastructure components, such as wind turbines and small modular nuclear reactors.

The ‘Manufacturing Technology Innovation’ category honours ground-breaking manufacturing techniques showing tangible benefits across industries

Ebflow stood out to the judging panel, made up of some of the UK’s leading engineers. They were particularly impressed with the technology’s role in speeding up production of a monopile foundation for Dogger Bank, the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

The RapidWeld project, which utilised Ebflow, achieved welding speeds at least 25 times faster than traditional methods, while reducing energy consumption by 90%, cutting costs by 88%, and lowering CO2 emissions by 97%.

CVE managing director Bob Nicolson expressed his pride in his team’s achievements, saying, “Being recognised in these prestigious national awards is a tremendous honour for the CVE team.

“Ebflow is designed to address one of the most pressing challenges in today’s energy and manufacturing sectors – how to make infrastructure components faster and with a lower carbon footprint.

“This award is a testament to the hard work and innovation of our team and our partners.

“We are committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and with technologies like Ebflow, we are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of manufacturing and energy production worldwide.”

Ebflow has also been instrumental in reducing the welding time for a small modular reactor (SMR) pressure vessel demonstrator at Sheffield Forgemasters from over a year to less than 24 hours. This breakthrough could revolutionise nuclear reactor production and help bridge the energy gap in the UK.

A full list of the winners at the Engineering and Manufacturing Awards 2024 is available here.

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