BATH – Two Maine companies have won a $1.2 million grant from the Navy to develop a fully automated welding process designed to reduce shipbuilding costs and reduce the weight of warships.

The money from the Office of Naval Research will go to Technology Systems Inc. of Wiscasset and Applied Thermal Sciences of Sanford, which believe the system could save $1 million per destroyer built at Bath Iron Works.

“It’s a big deal with huge potential for Bath Iron Works, Newport News and other American yards,” said David Patch, president of TSI.

The laser-welding process and control system will be developed by ATS. The company has established a new facility at the Sanford Airport that will house the welding machine and computer-controlled fabricating equipment.

The project is part of a larger U.S. Navy program focused on providing cost-effective laser-fabricated shapes using new steel alloys that will reduce ship weight and costs and boost ship performance and capabilities.

Other participants include Newport News, Bender Shipbuilding and Repair and Caterpillar, among others. TSI is coordinating the entire effort for the Naval Sea Systems Command and the Office of Naval Research.

“Our ultimate goal is to establish a fully automated laser fabrication facility located in Maine,” Patch said. The facility would serve shipbuilding and construction markets, he said.