A new fund has been launched to provide financial support to those developing new technologies to assist with nuclear decommissioning.
Engineering firm Wood has set up the innovation fund, and intends to invest around £250,000 in each project that it backs. The aim of the fund is to get more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in developing new technology.
Bob MacDonald, chief executive of Wood, commented: “The UK government and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) wants industry to deliver safer, cheaper and faster decommissioning, and to meet this challenge, it will be necessary to deploy new or existing technologies in ingenious and innovative ways.”
SMEs are now being invited to submit their investment-ready proposals to the company, which will then be assessed by a panel of experts before funding decisions are made. Applications will be accepted until 30 September 2018.
There are already examples of innovative technologies being utilised in the UK’s nuclear decommissioning sector.
The NDA recently highlighted the use of robots within nuclear decommissioning to minimise the risks to workers in this sector.
According to the government agency, robots that can crawl, swim, fly and even slither have all been developed and are being deployed as part of nuclear decommissioning projects. The organisation pointed out that it has funded a number of developments in this area through its collaboration with Innovate UK.
The organisation has also established two nuclear academic hubs in the UK, which have been funded as part of the government’s wider Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
As well as ensuring that any robots used for such activities are able to complete the tasks required, work has also been done to demonstrate their abilities in these radioactive environments.
Speaking at the recent Decom2018 event hosted by the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA), NDA commercial director Kate Ellis explained that the organisation is undergoing a number of changes to ensure it is able to safely decommission the UK’s ageing nuclear power plants.
“We are in the process of strengthening our approach to contracting: becoming better, more efficient, clearer, providing best value for taxpayers,” she asserted.
There have also been efforts to identify new technologies and opportunities within the nuclear decommissioning sector, she added, to help make the process as quick, safe, efficient and cost-effective as possible.
According to NIA data, there are currently 17 sites across the UK that are being managed by the NDA and that are at varying stages of decommissioning. The NDA was established in 2005 to manage these sites and deal with the challenges they present.
The NIA also notes that the nuclear decommissioning industry in the country generates £1.7 billion of business per year for UK firms, with 21 per cent of that spent with SMEs.
With so much work to be done in this area, it’s clear to see how the new innovation fund that’s been established can help the UK move forward with its decommissioning activities, while supporting British businesses and jobs.
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