NG Bailey has completed an installation of mechanical and electrical services at the UK’s prestigious new battery development facility, the £130m UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC).
Acting as Principal contractor, NG Bailey completed the £14.6m installation in eight months. With commissioning and handover of the facility now complete, NG Bailey has been retained as Principal contractor to support UKBIC during the ongoing installation phase of specialist equipment.
The publicly funded facility, which combines manufacturing, experimentation and innovation, covers the whole production process from electrodes to cell, module and pack assembly. Its clients span sectors including electric vehicles, rail, aerospace, industrial and domestic equipment and static energy storage.
Most mechanical and electrical equipment – including 6km of pipework and 140 heavy duty service modules – was manufactured at NG Bailey’s offsite manufacture facility in Bradford.
Other solutions delivered using offsite construction techniques include production of horizontal multi-service modules which enabled rapid installation and innovative space-saving solutions including a multi-service bridge structure which reduced the amount of space needed to house essential services and maximised production areas.
Duncan Smith, NG Bailey’s Operations Director, Midlands explains: “By being involved in the early stages of the project we were able to develop solutions for rapid delivery. It only took six weeks from the initial concept to delivering the first module.
“By using our offsite manufacture and building information modelling (BIM) expertise we were also able to deliver other benefits, in particular positioning our services to sit above the facility’s own plant and equipment.
“This approach also reduced the time needed to deliver the project by shifting 17,500 hours of work away from site – it creates safer working environments, reducing on-site congestion.”
Jeff Pratt, Managing Director of UKBIC, states: “We’re delighted with the progress made, and look forward to UKBIC being operational.
“Complete, our facility will be accessed by any organisation with existing or new battery technology – that technology will bring green jobs to the UK.”
Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet member for Jobs and Regeneration at Coventry City Council and board director at the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, says:, “UKBIC is a vital element of Coventry’s drive to lead the green industrial revolution
“UKBIC will be the centre of battery development in the UK and we have all the skills to help support the move to electric vehicles.”