Exclusive:'Pride and passion' of Sheffield convinced Holtec of £1.5bn nuclear plant investment in South Yorkshire

The region beat off stiff competition from a dozen contenders across the country to win Holtec’s investment, with the firm sizing up three sites, including GatewayEast near Doncaster-Sheffield Airport.

Dr Rick Springman, senior vice president of international projects, told The Yorkshire Post that it was the “informal criteria” that convinced Holtec to invest in the region.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard took Dr Springman on a tour of Sheffield, with a focus on the city’s role in the Industrial Revolution and manufacturing capability now.

“When we were meeting people from Sheffield, everyone kept telling me how great the quality [of manufacturing] was,” the Holtec executive said.

“There was a pride that you could tell from the workforce.

“To me that’s the fundamental thing, you have to have a workforce that is passionate and cares.

“I was really impressed with the community and focus on this area, this region, saying: ‘We produce good quality’.

“There’s a long history of producing good quality components.”

Holtec is one of four ventures, alongside Rolls-Royce, GE Hitachi and Westinghouse, hoping to win taxpayer funding to develop its SMR, which will power 300,000 homes.

It has committed to the plant in South Yorkshire, however the Great British Nuclear deal would boost the investment.

Dr Springman spoke for the first time about why he was convinced about the region’s potential.

He said: “It has a great centralised location for transport logistics, and an existing nuclear supply chain with Sheffield Forgemasters not far away.”

Dr Springman said the historic factory, which created the first steel in the Industrial Revolution, “would be a major input into the large components we want to make”.

He also cited the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, which he said could provide apprenticeships for the factory.

The vision of South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard also “really impressed” Dr Springman.

He explained: “Oliver and his team were really focused on advanced manufacturing and clean energy, and also the unique skills and capabilities that they already have that growth the area.

“That really aligns with what we want to do, which is clean energy manufacturing.”

Mr Coppard described Dr Springman’s comments as “really positive”, and said: “Ultimately, the reason that they are coming here is because we’ve got the skills, the expertise and the supply chains around the new nuclear technologies and advanced manufacturing, that means their business will be able to thrive in South Yorkshire.

“That for me is the fundamentals of all this, they’re not going to come to a region where they can’t see that potential and that opportunity and I think that’s why Rick was so keen on why South Yorkshire was a home for Holtec.”