Rotork has completed the first batch of UK-manufactured IQ3 Pro intelligent electric actuators for the Liverpool Bay CO₂ Transportation and Storage project, marking a milestone for the HyNet industrial cluster.
The first batch of intelligent electric actuators has rolled off the production line at Rotork’s manufacturing facility in Bath for deployment on the Liverpool Bay CO₂ Transportation and Storage (T&S) project.
The milestone was marked during a visit to the Bath facility by project partners and stakeholders, including United Infrastructure, Liverpool Bay CCS Limited (LBCCS), valve supplier LFF Valvenco and trade association Energies Industry Council.
Rotork is designing and manufacturing the IQ3 Pro electric actuators in the UK for United Infrastructure, which is delivering critical elements of the T&S project on behalf of LBCCS.
The actuators will form part of the infrastructure used to transport captured carbon dioxide for permanent offshore storage beneath Liverpool Bay. According to the companies, their deployment will support the safe and efficient operation of the CO₂ transportation network.
The Liverpool Bay T&S project is a key component of HyNet, one of the UK’s first low-carbon industrial clusters. Once operational, the network is intended to transport carbon emissions from industrial sites across North West England and North Wales for permanent storage beneath Liverpool Bay.
The project is expected to support the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries in the region while contributing to economic growth, inward investment and industrial competitiveness.
UK manufacturing focus
The companies have highlighted the manufacture of the actuators in Bath as an example of how major infrastructure projects can support domestic manufacturing and engineering capability.
United Infrastructure Executive Director of Energy Transition and External Affairs, Griff Thomas, said the company was seeking to source UK-manufactured parts and components where possible, with the aim of supporting the development of a skilled workforce.
“I’m delighted to see the first actuators come off the production line for the Liverpool Bay CO₂ Transportation and Storage project,” Thomas said. “At United Infrastructure, we are committed to investing in a UK workforce.”
Ross Pascoe, Chief Technology Officer at Rotork, said the milestone demonstrated how UK engineering and manufacturing could contribute to major infrastructure projects.
“Seeing products designed and manufactured by our teams in the UK being deployed on a project of this significance is a real source of pride,” he said.
Bath MP Wera Hobhouse also attended the event, highlighting Rotork’s investment in local manufacturing capability, engineering skills, apprenticeships and early-career opportunities.
She said the company’s work on the CO₂ transportation network represented a contribution both to the infrastructure’s safe and efficient operation and to the UK’s decarbonisation and net-zero ambitions.
The completion of the first actuators comes as the Liverpool Bay project progresses, with United Infrastructure, LBCCS and Rotork positioning the collaboration as an example of how investment in low-carbon infrastructure can support wider UK industrial capabilities.
For Rotork, the project also represents the deployment of products manufactured by its UK workforce on nationally significant decarbonisation infrastructure. The company employs more than 3,500 people across 140 countries and supplies intelligent flow-control solutions for applications involving liquids and gases.