Westinghouse Springfields celebrates 80 record-breaking years

The Westinghouse Springfields facility near Preston has marked a significant milestone as the oldest continuous nuclear fuel manufacturing site in the world.

It has just celebrated 80 years since it started from its original license in March 1946.

The site was chosen by the government to develop nuclear fuel for Calder Hall, the world’s first civil nuclear power station as well as subsequent Magnox and Advanced Gas Reactors (AGR) reactors.

It employs approximately 1,000 people at Springfields and around 10 per cent of the workforce are apprentices and apprenticeships have been running continuously at Springfields for more than 75 years.

Across the last eight decades, the Springfields site in Lancashire has supported the UK nuclear fleet.

The site has manufactured more than eight million Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) pins, sintered and pressed over 500 million AGR uranium pellets and 222,000 AGR grids which is equivalent to the burning of over 685 tonnes of coal.

Craig Boothby, managing director at Springfield Fuels, said: “It is an honour to be the latest custodian of Springfields Fuels on our 80th year.

"For eight decades, we have consistently provided the UK and customers across the globe with nuclear fuel to power their reactors.

"Nuclear power makes up about 15 per cent of UK electricity.

"We believe the vital role of nuclear keeping the lights on and our climate clean must be expanded we stand ready to support this mission.”   

Springfields also has a significant international customer base, currently supporting the Pressurized Water Reactor fuel markets in Europe and Asia.

The site has manufactured almost 2,000 PWR Fuel Assemblies, made up of half a million rods and nearly 200 million pellets.

Continuing its innovation legacy, in 2024 Springfields made the first ever Low Enriched Uranium Plus (LEU+) pellets for Westinghouse.

The factory is continuously seeking to diversify its product offering and is looking to provide VVER fuel for Eastern Europe Russian-designed reactors in the near future.

Andrew Snowden, MP for Fylde, said: “Springfields has been a cornerstone of Fylde’s economy for eight decades.

"Employing thousands of local people in well-paid, highly skilled jobs. As well as the site celebrating its 80th year, it has also continuously run its apprenticeship scheme for more than 75 years.

"More than 30 per cent of current employees and around 50 per cent of its senior leadership team are former apprentices – truly impressive commitment.”

Fuel manufactured at Springfields has generated enough energy to supply the UK’s electricity demand for 26 years, avoiding the emission of nearly three billion tonnes of CO2.