NG Bailey has completed a fast-paced installation of mechanical and electrical services installation at the UK’s prestigious and pioneering new battery development facility, the £130m UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC).
Acting as Principal Contractor, NG Bailey completed the £14.6m installation in just eight months. With commissioning and handover of the Coventry-based facility now complete, NG Bailey has been retained as Principal Contractor to support UKBIC during the ongoing installation phase of the facility’s 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 a wide range of sectors, including electric vehicles, rail, aerospace, industrial and domestic equipment and static energy storage.
The majority of mechanical and electrical equipment - including more than 6km of pipework and 140 heavy duty service modules – was manufactured at NG Bailey’s specialist 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 useful production areas.
Duncan Smith, NG Bailey’s Operations Director, Midlands explained: “By being involved in the early stages of the project we were able to develop bespoke solutions for rapid delivery. It only took six weeks from developing the initial concept to delivering the first module to site.
“By using our offsite manufacture and building information modelling (BIM) expertise we were also able to deliver other tangible benefits for our clients, in particularly positioning our services to sit above the facility’s own plant and equipment.
“This approach also dramatically reduced the time needed to deliver the project by shifting more than 17,500 hours of work away from site – it also creates safer working environments and reduces on-site congestion.”
Jeff Pratt, Managing Director of UKBIC, said: “We’re delighted with the progress made on the facility, and look forward to UKBIC being operational, a milestone we’re all looking forward to achieving.
“Once complete, our facility will be accessed by any organisation with existing or new battery technology – if that technology will bring green jobs and prosperity 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, said, “UKBIC is a vital element of Coventry’s drive to lead the green industrial revolution and it’s no surprise to me that NG Bailey’s fit out was as innovative as the facility.
“UKBIC will be the centre of battery development in the UK and we have all the skills right here to help support the move to electric vehicles.”
Offsite Manufacture at UKBIC in numbers:
- More than 6km of pipework.
- 140 horizontal heavy-duty multi-service modules (HDSM).
- Innovative space-saving 20m long, 5m high multi-service bridge structure to house essential services.
- Six plant skids for both low temperate hot water and chilled water.
- 10 HDSM trench modules for mechanical and electrical services.
- Three six-metre high bespoke floor standing multi-service heavy duty service modules.
- 50 goal post frames for internal and external compound services.
- 10 Air Handling Unit valve assembly modules.
- Loose pipe spooling for site installation.
- 12 distribution board assemblies.
