Cambridge, England – 18th September 2024: Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE), a specialist in power beam welding technologies, has won the highly coveted ‘Manufacturing Technology Innovation’ award at the Engineering & Manufacturing Awards 2024 for its revolutionary Ebflow™ technology. The national award, which celebrates disruptive technologies within the sector, was presented at a ceremony held at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, in early September.
Ebflow, an advanced welding technology developed by CVE, is rapidly gaining recognition as a critical enabler in the transition towards a net-zero future. 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 that demonstrate tangible benefits across industries. CVE’s innovative Ebflow technology stood out to the judging panel – which was made up of some of the UK’s leading engineers. Of particular note was Ebflow’s recent role in expediting the production of a monopile foundation for the world’s largest offshore wind farm – Dogger Bank. 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%.
Bob Nicolson, Managing Director at Cambridge Vacuum Engineering, expressed his pride in the company’s achievement, stating: “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.”
In addition to its success in the offshore wind sector, 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 revolutionize nuclear reactor production and help bridge the energy gap in the UK.
To see a full list of the winners at the Engineering and Manufacturing Awards 2024, please visit: https://engineeringmanufacturingawards.com/emas/en/page/winners-2024
(ends)