News from the 18th - 25th March 2022

Aurrigo takes off with first autonomous shuttle trial at Birmingham Airport

A driverless shuttle, owned by Solihull Council and designed and built in Coventry, made its debut in the grounds of a UK airport for the first time this week.
Aurrigo, which employs over 70 people at its Advanced Engineering Centre, will deploy its 10-seater Auto-Shuttle alongside live traffic on the roads of Birmingham Airport. The zero-emissions autonomous shuttle uses a suite of sensors, including LiDAR, to understand its surroundings and move safely around its environment.
For the purpose of testing, and in line with current legislation, a safety operator will be on-board at all times, whilst the shuttle can also be manually driven with conventional controls to give the ultimate in operational flexibility.

https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/aurrigo-takes-off-with-first-autonomous-shuttle-trial-at-birmingham-airport/

Boost for British nuclear and steel industries as Sheffield Forgemasters joins Sizewell C Consortium

Sheffield Forgemasters has announced it will join forces with other leading firms with the aim to supply large-scale gigawatt nuclear projects across the UK, starting with Sizewell C.
To underscore this new partnership, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed outlining its intent to supply Sizewell C. The agreement will see Sheffield Forgemasters provide a range of specialised qualification components for the project and indicates potential longer-term opportunities for collaboration on future European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) projects across the UK.

https://www.sheffieldforgemasters.com/news-and-insights/news/03/sheffield-forgemasters-signs-mou-to-supply-sizewell-c/

Essentra Components accelerates electric machine rollout

Manufacturing company Essentra components has begun phase two of its electric machine replacement programme after 2021 saw 21 new machines installed across EMEA, US and APAC, seven more than initially planned, after significant improvements in phase one.
The second phase of the replacement scheme is expected to see 20 new electric machines installed throughout 2022 with seven already ordered in February this year. Some 39 hydraulic machines have been replaced to date, either at the end or final stages of their lifecycle.
With the initial goal to replace its entire portfolio, with a more energy efficient one by 2031, Essentra Components now expects the overhaul to be completed closer to 2028

https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/essentra-components-accelerates-electric-machine-rollout/