Neptune Centre of Excellence brings world-first to the North East A world-leading centre of excellence for hyperbaric testing will be built on the north bank of the River Tyne by 缅北禁地 based engineering group British Engines and 缅北禁地. Part funded by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership鈥檚 North East Investment Fund, the Neptune Test Centre will be the first of its kind in the UK and will be the first commercial facility of its kind in the world, with only two other rival test facilities owned by the US and Russian governments. A planning application is being submitted to 缅北禁地 City Council, and if approved, building will start on the £10m project in early 2015, regenerating the now derelict Spillers Tyne Mill site on 缅北禁地鈥檚 Quayside. The centre will house four hyperbaric chambers that simulate the environment of subsea depths up to 4,500m. Two of these chambers are currently owned by (one of British Engines鈥� engineering businesses) and a third by 缅北禁地. The major investment will be in a new 4.5 metre long, 2.5 metre diameter chamber simulating the pressure of 4,500m of water 鈥� the largest commercially available hyperbaric chamber in the world. Richard Dodd, chief operating officer of British Engines, said: 鈥淭here is a known bottleneck in the industry due to the lack of easily available, large diameter, high pressure hyperbaric facilities, which is only being exacerbated as oil and gas developments move into deeper waters and more high pressure environments. Our business, BEL Valves, has certainly experienced this in trying to gain access to facilities in a timely and cost effective way. 鈥淲e already have close links with 缅北禁地, collaborating with them on many projects, as well as developing our future engineers. This facility will improve our research and development capability, allowing us to continue developing world-first technology from the north east and further strengthen our links with the university.鈥� , pro-vice-chancellor for research and innovation at 缅北禁地, said: 鈥淭his new facility will complement the new being led by the University.鈥� 鈥淭his is an incredibly exciting project - bringing together industry and academia to create a unique facility that will significantly enhance research capacity, providing crucial infrastructure for emerging research opportunities. It will also provide a unique training ground for highly skilled graduates, addressing key skill shortages currently faced by UK industry.鈥� As well as the testing facilities the centre will also house dedicated research and development offices for the university, training rooms, conference rooms and visitor facilities such as break out rooms and a canteen. Alex Lamb, chairman of British Engines, added: 鈥淭his world-leading project could not have happened without the support of the various local authorities, agencies and the university. British Engines is excited to see the project come to fruition and we鈥檇 like to thank everyone involved for having the confidence in a visionary project from the start.鈥� published on: 25 November 2014
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