An EBFlow electron beam welding system manufactured by Cambridge Vacuum EngineeringCambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE), which has more than 60 years’ experience manufacturing electron beam systems and vacuum furnaces, has secured £15 million of funding with the support of UK Export Finance (UKEF) to help finance three zero carbon projects in the offshore and nuclear industries it is involved in. The company’s products are to be used on Dogger Bank, the world’s largest wind farm, as well as in the manufacture of small modular reactors (SMRs).
CVE, is part of a consortium of UK companies that have won an Innovate UK grant to dramatically reduce the installation costs of the Dogger Bank wind farm in the North Sea. This project is in addition to two other renewable energy projects, which are focusing on the new generation of small modular reactors (SMRs) that the UK Government is currently promoting as part of its recently announced
Green Energy Strategy.
When completed, Dogger Bank will generate enough energy to power over 4.5 million homes every year - around 5% of the UK’s electricity needs. As the construction of wind turbines requires a substantial amount of welding, CVE has developed groundbreaking welding technology to reduce the fabrication time and cost of the wind turbine foundations by up to 25%.
The development of this new technology required a great deal of investment by CVE, locking up valuable cash and putting pressure on its successful exporting business. With the support of UKEF, the company managed to secure a trade loan facility from CVE’s bank to finance several export contracts and unlock the capital that CVE needed to supply both the offshore wind and nuclear projects.
David Evans, CVE finance and accounting director, said: “Even though our export order book has been full with strong demand from China, USA, and India, the economic disruption that has been caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has made it difficult to get all of the finance needed from our bank.
“UKEF’s guarantee will allow us to deliver contracts with clients around the world and deliver on the Dogger Bank project.”
Jo Archer, UKEF export finance manager for the region, said: “The UK is world-renowned for the quality of its manufactured goods and is rapidly becoming a centre for ‘green’ technology.
“UKEF is one of the world-leading ECAs for supporting clean, sustainable projects and through supporting companies like CVE, it is playing its part in helping the UK to achieve its clean energy goals and helping the world transition away from fossil fuels.”
This support for CVE is part of UKEF’s ongoing support for renewable projects around the world, with £2 billion of direct lending dedicated to supporting renewable energy projects.