Industry Link – Winter 2020

MAGAZINE OF THE UK NUCLEAR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION WINTER / 2020

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COP26 and the role of nuclear 18

CYCLIFE BECOMES DECOM ENTITY FOR EDF IN THE UK 12 Peterson excels with awards 7 EU SUSTAINABLE FINANCE TAXONOMY

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Simply The Right Solution A world class project and technical integrator for the nuclear industry.

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Welcome to the final edition of Industry Link for 2020! Despite the year we have had, we can look forward to 2021 with some optimism. Our generating fleet has operated throughout the pandemic with no interruptions, helping keep the lights on across Britain. Key workers right across the nuclear sector have made us all proud. We have adapted to new ways of working readily, showing both our resilience and long traditions of robust safety and compliance procedures.

Now the UK Government has backed both large and small nuclear reactors to play a role in hitting net zero. It has provided funding for the development of SMRs, AMRs and fusion reactors.

Just last week, it renewed its commitment to pursuing multiple gigawatt scale projects and rejected the pessimism of the National Infrastructure Commission.

The prospects for nuclear in the UK are now as bright as they have been for years. The contributions you will read in this edition reflect that optimism. From innovative approaches to waste management and recycling and the co-generation potential of nuclear power, to our members’ excellence in decommissioning services and their ambitions to expand.

With ideas about Environmental, Social and Governance opportunities and how the UK should use nuclear power to be a global climate leader, along with the launch of WiN UK as an independent organisation, promoting diversity and inclusion in industry. These contributions reflect the strength of nuclear here in the UK and the dedication of the people who we call friends and colleagues.

To round it out, I also offer some thoughts on the media and political landscape we face. The NIA is on the front foot, making the case for nuclear on the telly, on the radio, and in your morning paper. We are seeing more interest in practicalities of delivering net zero from journalists and political stakeholders, and we are confident that things are moving in the right direction.

As this edition goes out, the Energy White Paper has not yet been published, but we are told it is coming soon. In the meantime, we are adding persistence to our patience, and reminding those in power that if we want to cut emissions, and create good jobs, it has to be nuclear. Enjoy your reading, and here’s to a normal New Year!

Lincoln Hill, Director of Policy and External Affairs IN THIS ISSUE...

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Editor - Lincoln Hill Art Editor - Dan Powney Contributors - Ieuan Williams, Stephanie McKenna, Zoe Young – Magnox, Steven Smith – Peterson, Mark McDiarmid – WiN UK, James Cowley – Arup, Peter Bryant – EDF Energy, Rosa Tomé & David Howarth – Cyclife, Tegan Owsnett – KAEFER, D. Bradbury, G. Elder & D. Hebditch – TÜV, Simon Stuttaford – Castletown Law, Neil Holloway – UKAEA, Dan Gould – NDA, with additional thanks to World Nuclear News

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Cover image: Courtesy of Cyclife UK - cyclife-edf.com This magazine is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, using vegetable based inks.

The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution Building back better, supporting green jobs, and accelerating our path to net zero

We had hoped that this would be the edition where we finally could tell you that the Energy White Paper has been published, but as alluded to in the introduction, we are still waiting. In the meantime, however, good things have come to those who have waited.

Government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, the Spending Review and National Infrastructure Strategy, and the response to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) represent the most encouraging set of announcements that our industry has had in quite some time.

The political implications of these decisions and the NIA’s lobbying work to affect them we will leave for Lincoln in his Power Politics column further down. Here we will focus on the policy details of the announcements and what they mean for our industry.

The Ten Point Plan itself made four key commitments on nuclear power: 1. “We are pursuing large-scale new nuclear projects,

subject to value-for-money. To support this, we will provide development funding.”

2. £215 million to develop SMRs, with a target of £300

million private sector match-funding.

3. £170 million for R&D on Advanced Modular

Reactors, targeting a demonstrator “by the early 2030s at the latest”.

November 2020

• Crucially, the Government recognised that

AMRs “could operate at over 800°C and the high-grade heat could unlock efficient production of hydrogen and synthetic fuels”.

Government backs nuclear, large and small BY. LINCOLN HILL AND IEUAN WILLIAMS

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4. £40 million to develop regulatory frameworks and supply

chains for modular reactor technologies.

Subsequent announcements reinforced these points, which it is worth examining in turn. For a start, the Government confirmed that they will pursue multiple large-scale nuclear power projects.

We know this because the Government published alongside the National Infrastructure Strategy a specific response to the NIC’s recommendation that the UK only do one more large-scale nuclear project after Hinkley.

The Government noted the intense clean power demands of net zero and concluded that “this uncertainty means it is

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important to maintain options by pursuing additional largescale nuclear projects, subject to clear value for money for both consumers and taxpayers and all relevant approvals. Further details of the government’s nuclear strategy will follow in the Energy White Paper.”

This is a major victory for the industry, as multiple large-scale projects would provide more investment, employment and security to the supply chain, and a better chance to cut costs through project learnings and the benefits of a programme build.

There are further encouraging indications that the Government could be strengthening its commitment to large-scale nuclear.

The Spending Review promised “up to £525 million towards the development of a large-scale nuclear project, subject to value for money assessment, and advanced nuclear technologies, including novel small modular reactors and next generation advanced modular reactors”.

If we subtract the £425 million committed to modular reactor development, we are left with £100 million unallocated, with no money specifically assigned to “the development of a large-scale nuclear project.” We are left to draw our own conclusions.

In the National Infrastructure Strategy, ministers further stated that “alongside considering the RAB model the government will also continue to consider the potential role of government finance during construction, provided there is clear value for money for consumers and taxpayers.”

This shows the Government is still open to taking direct stakes in nuclear plants, especially at the critical point of construction, before power generation produces a revenue stream. While Kwasi Kwarteng, the Minister for Clean Growth, had noted this in at a conference event, it is important that the Government has acknowledged this formally in writing, noting the unique requirements of nuclear construction.

We are confident that either a RAB model or direct government financing, or indeed a blend of both, would reduce the cost of capital. This could significantly reduce overall new build costs, making nuclear power cheaper to deliver. We still await further details in the Energy White Paper, given the sums we know are involved, but the indications this time are positive.

Likewise, the support for modular reactor technology is essential. Net zero will require both large-scale and small-scale nuclear to contribute, and capital-intensive new technologies such as modular reactors require public investment to be competitive.

As with large-scale reactors, the sums announced of course will not bring SMRs to market alone. We still want to see a

National Policy Statement on small reactors to bring coherence to this area of policy. However, further government funding is a positive sign of ministers’ commitment to developing SMRs. In fact, the announcements on modular reactors opened up a new front for nuclear in the decarbonisation debate: hydrogen. The Ten Point Plan gave hydrogen its own bullet, and a target of “5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030”. Hydrogen has been very much a hot topic, mooted as solution for aviation, industry, transportation and heating.

The Government is still developing its Hydrogen Strategy, so it was crucial that AMRs were specifically mentioned for hydrogen production. AMRs have the potential to both generate clean electricity and use the high temperatures created to drive hydrogen production. They represent a promising innovation, but nuclear is also in the frame for hydrogen today.

Currently, hydrogen is classified into three broad camps by its origin. “Grey” hydrogen, produced by steam methane reformation, is still the most common process to make hydrogen. It produces 10 kilograms of carbon for every kilogram of hydrogen, and so is not a solution for net zero.

Steam reformation with carbon capture to produce hydrogen, “blue” hydrogen, has, however, probably received more attention to date than “green” hydrogen from zero-carbon sources, although the former does not yet exist. “Green” hydrogen should be preferable for net zero, as the best way to cut carbon is not to emit it in the first place.

This will be a crucial argument to win, and we are confident the nuclear is in a good position. The Hydrogen to Heysham project already proved that nuclear can drive electrolysis to produce hydrogen at a fraction the lifecycle carbon footprint of steam methane, even if carbon capture and storage were to become viable.

The team at Sizewell C are exploring producing “green” hydrogen that could then be used for clean transport and other solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of construction.

The AMR teams are continuing their work. Across the industry, we are preparing our case for nuclear as a central part of the Hydrogen Strategy.

We set out an ambitious role for nuclear in our Forty by ’50 roadmap earlier this year, and the Government’s announcements have taken that vision a small step closer to reality. On all fronts, the signs are good, but the work is not yet done. You can rest assured however, that we will do all we can to see it through.

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Looking back to the future BY. ZOE YOUNG ⁄ MAGNOX

Magnox is set to start the new year with a new outlook to the way it delivers its decommissioning mission.

It is now more than a year since Magnox, which is responsible for the clean-up of 12 nuclear sites, became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Although the last year has brought unexpected challenges, the new leadership team, led by chief executive officer Gwen Parry-Jones OBE, has overseen significant milestones in legacy reduction.

A new approach to decommissioning the Magnox sites was announced as part of the NDA’s fourth strategy document, recently published for consultation. This follows a review of the historical strategy of deferring decommissioning at all Magnox reactor sites to allow natural decay of contaminated materials.

Increased costs, advancements in technology and better understanding of lifecycle risks at some sites have now resulted in a proposal to adopt new, site-specific, decommissioning strategies, and bring forward some of the previously deferred work.

Trawsfynydd Site, in Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd, Wales, is set to be the next ‘lead and learn’ site for the decommissioning programme, pioneering innovative techniques with learning shared across Magnox and the NDA. At Trawsfynydd, the intention is to bring forward reactor decommissioning without the period of care and maintenance.

The review, along with learning gained by taking Bradwell Site, into care and maintenance in 2018 and pioneering reactor decommissioning work at Winfrith Site, in Dorset, will inform development of the strategies over the coming months.

There is also recognition that this cannot be delivered alone —Magnox hosted a virtual supply chain webinar this autumn,

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as part of its commitment to re-engage with the supply chain to help develop and plan for the site specific strategy approach.

The new approach follows a challenging year in which the COVID-19 pandemic meant work on Magnox sites paused for several months. Those who could worked from home, while others volunteered to support their communities.

“I am immensely proud of the way everyone associated with Magnox persevered and just got on with things as best they could. Also, the commitment to our communities was outstanding. It has been humbling to see the genuine gratitude expressed by community representatives for the work of those who volunteered and for the resources in the form of PPE and finance that we provided,” explained Gwen.

Either side of the pandemic pause, Magnox delivered several milestones. Wylfa Site transitioned into the decommissioning phase, bringing an end to defuelling operations at the biggest of the UK’s first generation reactors.

“Each and every one of the Magnox team at Wylfa, and all our supply chain partners, can be proud of the contribution they have made to reducing the UK’s nuclear hazard,” said Gwen.

At the Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor at Winfrith, work has begun in the reactor’s secondary containment area, with construction of the core segmentation and waste processing facility to follow over coming months.

And work to remediate land at Harwell Site, in Oxfordshire, where the former Liquid Effluent Treatment Plant once stood, has resumed following the COVID-19 pause. Tens of thousands of bags of waste have been dug, assayed and dispatched since

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the project began in 2018; with the ultimate aim of allowing the land to be re-used as soon as possible.

There have been exciting uses of new technology too.

Virtual reality has been used on the Dragon reactor at Winfrith to train operators who will ultimately take it apart.

The tool allows them to see a life-size model of the reactor core and enables training and trialling of decommissioning techniques in a safe environment.

Gwen added: “What a year this has been, with many challenges but so many positives as well. I am proud of how the workforce responded to the pandemic, and together we did not let it affect our focus on conventional safety.

“We have continued our delivery and, though circumstances have meant we’ve had to make some changes in how we go about our business, we’ve progressed work at all sites.

“Since becoming a subsidiary of the NDA, Magnox has been working more closely and collaboratively with the NDA and other parts of the NDA group - sharing learning and best practice, and hunting out opportunities to introduce new techniques technologies to help deliver our mission.

“The year has also given us chance to review and make strides internally to enhance what we do, looking at sustainability and ensuring equality, diversion and inclusion are at the forefront of our work.

“It has also been more important than ever to support the mental health of our workforce as we learn from the past year and transition into new, smarter, ways of working to support our the delivery of our mission.”

As net zero has climbed up the media and political agenda, so has nuclear power. The broadcasters and papers alike have naturally devoted considerable interest to the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan, which included nuclear as one of its key bullets, but that is not the only thing seizing journalists’ attention.

National Grid has issued three warnings in the last six weeks about the security of electricity supplies, as cold, darkening days have coincided with low wind. The coverage of hydrogen as a potential solution to decarbonise hard to reach areas has accelerated dramatically. Small modular reactors have continued to spark conversation as a new solution, and the perennial debate over nuclear financing and investment has continued unabated, particularly in the more business-minded broadsheets.

Our job at the NIA in all this has been to craft a coherent narrative about the role nuclear plays in cutting emissions and creating jobs, and in bringing out new angles to these stories that allow us to make our core arguments about nuclear.

You may have seen (or heard) our Chief Executive Tom Greatrex on the BBC, on Sky News or on Channel 4 discussing how both large-scale and small-scale reactors have a key role in a net zero energy mix, and how nuclear power can work together with renewables to decarbonise.

His theme has been to reject false choices about renewables or nuclear, large or small reactors. Instead, he has stressed the magnitude of the task before us, and the need to mobilise all zero-carbon technologies in the service of this great national endeavour.

We have further seized up the Grid’s warnings about capacity to demonstrate the need for reliable, always-on, emissions-free power from nuclear, alongside renewable generation. We have shown national journalists the evidence that running a grid like this is unstable, unsustainable and unaffordable, and the coverage we have received for this argument is encouraging.

As winter approaches, and our fossil fuel use soars, I can guarantee that you have not heard those lines from us for the last time. We are determined that the lesson we should draw from 2020 is not that we went coal-free over the warm summer months when lockdown suppressed demand. The lesson is that we are still too dependent on gas and coal, the two most polluting fuels, to power us when demand gets high and conditions get tight.

In the coming months, we are continuing to step up our engagement as a new Media and Communications Manager joins us in January, and as we look forward to major milestones including the Energy White Paper. If you want to learn more about what we are doing at the NIA, get in touch with me, and we will talk so more.

Lincoln Hill Director of Policy and External Affairs Nuclear Industry Association lincoln.hill@niauk.org

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Turkey grants construction permit Turkey’s nuclear regulatory authority has issued a construction licence to Russian-owned JSC Akkuyu Nuclear for unit 3 of the Akkuyu power plant.

Comprising four VVER-1200 units, the project will be the first in the global nuclear industry to be implemented according to the Build-Own-Operate model. Once complete, the plant is expected to generate about 35 terawatt hours of power each year, enough to provide 90% of the annual electricity demand of a large city such as Istanbul, and to meet up to 10% of the electricity needs of the whole of Turkey.

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Japanese high-level waste repository studies begin Japan’s Nuclear Waste Management Organisation (NUMO) has begun an initial stage of assessing two municipalities in Hokkaido for their suitability to host a final disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste, the first time such surveys have ever been conducted in the country.

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NUMO will spend about two years checking geographical layers and the strength of bedrock, based on geological maps and academic papers. NUMO began asking municipalities around Japan in 2002 to apply for consideration to host radioactive waste disposal facilities.

In May 2015 Japan adopted a new basic policy on final disposal of highlevel waste. This included a decision to present scientific characteristics of the entire country in order to promote initiatives under the premise that development of a repository is the responsibility of the present generation.

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Canada moves SMR plans forward An MoU signed by Advanced Reactor Concepts, Moltex Energy and NB Power establishes plans to collaborate as an SMR vendor cluster in supply chain development activities, technology education and trades initiatives, and common research and development activities.

ARC Canada—a subsidiary of Advanced Reactor Concepts—and Moltex have been working with NB Power to advance Generation IV grid-sized SMR technology, NB Power said.

They are working towards establishing New Brunswick as the hub for supply chain and technical support. ARC Canada

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is developing the ARC-100 SMR, a sodiumcooled fast reactor. Moltex is developing Stable Salt Reactor (SSR) technology.

Moltex plans to build its first-of-akind SSR-Wasteburner—a fast reactor that uses recycled nuclear waste as fuel—at Point Lepreau.

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First assemblies loaded into new Chernobyl used fuel store The first canister of used nuclear fuel has been loaded into the Interim Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility (ISF-2) at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine. ISF-2 is the largest dry-type used fuel storage facility in the world and has an operating life of at least 100 years.

More than 21,000 used fuel assemblies accumulated at the site between 1977 and 2000. Each of the fuel assemblies will be disassembled into three parts in a purpose-built ‘hot cell’, packaged in double-walled transportable canisters and placed into ISF-2.

The first canister, containing a total of 93 used fuel assemblies, has now been placed in a concrete storage module within ISF-2. The operation was carried out by Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant personnel under the supervision of IAEA, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine and Holtec International.

For full versions and more details on these and other stories please visit www.world-nuclear-news.org

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Peterson excels with two Sellafield Limited awards BY. STEVEN SMITH ⁄ PETERSON UK

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nternational logistics service provider Peterson has been announced as this year’s winner of the Chief Executive’s award and Management of Contractors Safety accolade from Sellafield Limited in recognition of outstanding performance at the Lillyhall facility in West Cumbria.

The awards take place annually to recognise the service of Sellafield Limited contractors and celebrate their collective achievements each year.

The Sellafield Chief Executive’s award recognises contractor excellence over a number of years in areas of health and safety, security and operational resilience, project management, and providing social economic value to local communities.

The Management of Contractors Safety award honours contractors which consistently maintain high standards of safety performance, innovation and cooperation during the previous financial year.

Since 2016, Peterson has been the operator of the Control Tower and Security and Distribution Centre (S&DC) at Lillyhall on behalf of Sellafield Limited. The logistics company recently signed a four-year contract extension to continue providing the management of inbound logistics, warehousing and secure distribution of goods at Lillyhall.

The Peterson team has worked closely with Sellafield over the years to develop several technologies to improve operational efficiencies in delivering goods, including safety and security protocols.

In 2019, Peterson’s track and trace technology, developed in collaboration with Sellafield, enhanced operations by identifying fuel savings of £75,000 for the wider supply chain

and achieving a reduction of over 190,000kg in CO2 emissions by maximising the consolidation of all goods.

Other safety initiatives include the ZoneSafe alarm system which was introduced as an additional safety control and reached Target Zero alerts within the facility. Last year also saw Peterson Lillyhall successfully achieve ISO-9001, 45001 and 14001 certifications.

Jason Hendry, Regional Director at Peterson, said: “It’s an honour to receive the Chief Executive’s award and win the Management of Contractors Safety accolade for the second year in a row. We all feel extremely proud of these achievements and look forward to continued success in the years ahead.”

Alan Matear, Peterson’s Site Manager at Lillyhall, said: “Our team’s relentless drive to deliver an excellent service has been exemplary since the start of operations at Lillyhall, and these awards are a reward for their hard work, dedication and success achieved throughout the year.

“We are excited about the future and to continue working closely with the Sellafield team to innovate and enhance our operations.”

Mark Geldard, Sellafield Ltd Logistics Warehousing Operations Manager, said: “These awards are recognition to the Peterson team for the first-class logistics service they provide to Sellafield Ltd. “Not only, in the day to day operations of the security and distribution centre at Lillyhall, but also their enthusiasm for continuous improvements of operations. Working collaboratively with Sellafield Ltd to ensure business improvements meet customer requirements”.

“WE ALL FEEL EXTREMELY PROUD OF THESE ACHIEVEMENTS AND LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED SUCCESS IN THE YEARS AHEAD” 2020 | WINTER — 7

WiN UK relaunches as independent entity BY. MARK MCDIARMID ⁄ DOOSAN BABCOCK

Women in Nuclear UK (WiN UK) has just completed a rebranding exercise with the launch of a new website www.winuk.org.uk and membership portal as part of its relaunch as an independent entity.

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ormed in 2014 and operating as a network within the Nuclear Institute since 2016, WiN UK has become a key driving force behind improving diversity and inclusion across the nuclear industry and crucially in the promotion and delivery of the Nuclear Sector Deal gender target and the milestones within the Nuclear Gender Roadmap.

WiN UK will maintain a clear focus on its mission and objectives:

Address the nuclear industry’s gender balance; Improve the representation of women in leadership roles within the nuclear industry; Engage with industry, government and the public on nuclear issues; Support the nuclear industry with tools and information.

The organisation has established a series of regional teams across the country and developed a forward strategy to meet the 2017 Nuclear Sector Deal’s gender target of 40% of the UK nuclear workforce to be female by 2030 (20% in 2020).

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In December 2019, further gender targets were set out in the Gender Roadmap which was created in partnership with the Nuclear Sector Skills Group (NSSG) with the aim of achieving the following milestones: → 50% of all those starting apprenticeships to be female by 2021 → 30% of executives to be female by 2030 (currently 13% in 2020) → 40% of the UK nuclear workforce being female by 2030

(currently 20% in 2020)

Support for Women in Nuclear UK has grown at an impressive rate and now stands at over 1,000 members, with over 60 companies across the sector signing up to its Industry Charter.

Lynsey Valentine, President of WiN UK, has reflected that “Thanks to a great team effort, WiN UK has become a not-forprofit company limited by guarantee, continuing to focus on improving gender balance in our industry. All our volunteers are part of this success and growth. Together, we’re making change happen.”

Nadhim Zahawi MP, the business minister who covers nuclear power in his brief, added that “The UK has world-leading expertise in nuclear energy, and to maintain our position we want to encourage as many women as possible to consider a career in the sector. A strengthened, independent Women in Nuclear will be crucial in helping us increase diversity and achieve our Nuclear Sector Deal target of 40% women in the nuclear industry by 2030.”

David Peattie, Patron of WiN UK, added that “Our nuclear industry offers so many fantastic careers for women. WiN UK, as an independent company with its enthusiastic volunteers, is well placed to help more women grasp these opportunities.”

Industry Partners The rebranding and relaunch exercise was only made possible by the tremendous support over the past 12 months from industry partners, including the National Nuclear Laboratory.

Olivia Thompson, Head of Skills and Development from National Nuclear Laboratories (NNL), added: “NNL have been delighted to be WiN UK’s official industry sponsor during the year it has become an independent organisation. Collaboration across the nuclear sector is vital for achieving gender parity and WiN UK are playing a pivotal role in achieving this.”

How can you help?

The ongoing success of WiN UK is driven by women and men across the UK nuclear industry and the wide array of organisations who operate within it.

Every single person has a role to play in helping to achieve the objectives and the first step is to become a member of WiN UK via the membership portal on the website and then be a positive voice for change in your own organisation, on social media and talking to friends and colleagues.

WiN UK is keen for people from within and beyond the nuclear industry, whether male or female, to join us and get involved in STEM outreach, networking and mentoring via our regional teams.

WiN UK are also looking for a new industry partner for 2021 to follow on from the success of the past 12 months with NNL and would encourage any company, large or small, to become industry charter signatories and demonstrate commitment to improving diversity and inclusion across the UK nuclear industry.

A new hub for WiN UK As part of our work to meet milestones within the Nuclear Gender Roadmap, our new website will increasingly provide relevant materials and tools to support recruitment, progression and retention of women in the nuclear industry.

Get in touch via info@winuk.org.uk if you are part of an initiative or have materials that we could use.

During lockdown and changed working practices, our regional teams have continued to run excellent free online events, which are now all listed on new events calendar on our website as well as promoted via our social media channels.

All our volunteers are part of this success and growth. Together, we’re making change happen.

Lynsey Valentine, President of WiN UK

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EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy BY. JAMES COWLEY / ARUP

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arlier this year, the European Commission’s technical expert group (TEG) submitted its longawaited report on sustainable finance taxonomy. This initiative is aimed at providing a tool to investors by classifying a multitude of industries, including the energy sector, according to the ability of these industries to help combat climate change, stipulated by the requirement to do no significant harm.

Under the final list of winners and losers, the TEG was quick to acknowledge nuclear power’s low-carbon credentials, which have been clear since the first civil nuclear power stations came online in the 1950s.

However, despite lacking expertise in nuclear power, this group went on to incorrectly judge that the apparent absence of a firm strategy for manging radioactive waste justified the exclusion of the nuclear power sector from the framework.

As a result, it is at risk of being wrongly labelled as a high-risk investment with the potential to adversely impact the environment. This could drive up the cost of borrowing and limit access to green finance.

In response, numerous organisations, experts and institutions, including the Nuclear Energy Agency and Arup, have produced or contributed to correspondence and reports directly countering the EU’s judgement.

A joint report by Energy for Humanity and Lucid Catalyst highlighted the clear contradiction embedded in this decision, noting that: “all commercial nuclear

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activities in the EU are already regulated to a ‘Do no harm’ standard through the Laws, Regulations, and Procedures of the EU and the Member States.” Which begs the question: how can the converse suddenly be true for this framework alone?

The body of work compiled by leaders in the nuclear industry presents the facts in an informed and unbiased manner.

In some cases, comparisons have been drawn across disparate methods of generation, not to disparage specific technologies, but to reveal some findings perhaps not fully considered by the EU. For example: 1. A modern nuclear power plant

will produce a smaller volume of waste per MWh than many forms of generation, including some renewable technologies.

2. For all waste that does arise, safe

and well-developed strategies already exist: interim storage solutions in use today ensure waste and spent fuel can be safely held for upwards of 100 years before any form of intervention might be required—the same cannot be said for every other form of power generation.

3. Furthermore, as far as the risk to

the public is concerned, the average dose in 2010 to an operator, who might spend 40+ hours per week on a nuclear licenced site for the entire

year, was about the same dose one might expect on a single return flight to North America from the UK. Fortunately, owing to the industry’s rapid and collaborative response to this judgement, the Joint Research Centre, and its industry experts, have been commissioned by the EU to provide a technologically unbiased review into the nuclear industry’s compliance with the do no significant harm element.

Unfortunately, and confusingly, the EU intends to implement its framework before the study is complete in 2021. Its proposed delay, to help ensure a level playing field for the entire energy sector, remains pending. So overall, a step in the right direction, but only just.

In the end, the nuclear industry is widely accepted to be essential to hitting net zero. This is echoed by the IEA, stating that a “Steep decline in nuclear power would threaten energy security and climate goals.”

What’s more, the strategies and technologies currently exist for the safe, long-term storage of radioactive waste, and the industry is already bound by law to demonstrate it does no harm under EU regulation.

From an objective standpoint then, the requirement to do no significant harm has been more than met, and has been for some time. The exclusion of nuclear power from the sustainable finance taxonomy is short-sighted and counterproductive, since we do not have much time left to prevent climate catastrophe.

Nuclear presents a positive ESG opportunity for investors BY. PETER BRYANT / EDF ENERGY

pent fuel from nuclear reactors is responsible for the vast majority of the radioactivity that a station produces. This is often stored in casks—such as these S at Sizewell B—which are safe to work around and even touch.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have become increasingly important in recent years as asset owners and investors are demanding that their money is invested in activities that have positive environmental and social impacts.

This trend is set to accelerate—recent research from PWC estimates that ESG investment funds will experience more than a threefold increase in asset value by 2025.

Whilst ESG investors are increasingly looking to clean energy as part of this trend, the stance taken by the European Commission’s taxonomy on sustainable finance and other questions about the sustainability of nuclear may challenge its ability to participate in the growing ESG market.

A recent report from investment research providers Morningstar and Sustainalytics concluded that the market generally underappreciates the positive ESG attributes of nuclear power—and an objective appraisal of nuclear against ESG criteria demonstrates its multiple positive attributes.

Starting with the ‘E’ of ESG: The core benefit of nuclear is as a provider of vast amounts of very low carbon electricity, with lifecycle emissions comparable to renewable technologies.

While renewables will provide the majority of the UK’s future power mix, ‘firm’ (non-weather dependent) low-carbon power is also needed for Net Zero and nuclear is currently the only proven technology that can deliver this at scale.

Nuclear stations also produce vast amounts of low-carbon heat which is typically lost as wasted energy. In the future, the heat could be used in applications such as hydrogen production and direct air capture (removing carbon from the atmosphere).

Sizewell C is investigating these options and could play a key role demonstrating these uses of nuclear energy.

Another important strength of nuclear is that all this low carbon energy is produced on a very small land footprint, with little impact on biodiversity and natural capital.

The challenges and controversies regarding the ESG qualities of nuclear are typically focused on safety and radioactive waste.

However, in contrast to perceptions, evidence shows nuclear is one of the safest forms of electricity generation there is.

Evidence is also strong on radioactive waste management —civil nuclear waste has been managed and stored without any

significant health or environmental impacts anywhere in the world throughout the industry’s 70+ year lifetime. What’s more, there have been continuous improvements in reducing waste quantities through the application of Best Available Techniques and the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principle.

As an example, Sizewell C will generate 40 times less ILW and LLW per TWh compared to the older Magnox Fleet.

Although plans for the UK’s Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) for permanent waste disposal are not yet finalised, safe waste management can continue indefinitely with or without a GDF. Turning to the ‘S’ in ESG, there are substantial social benefits from nuclear. Take the proposed development at Sizewell C as an example: 70% of the construction value will be spent with UK companies, 70,000 direct and indirect construction jobs will be created and there will be 1,500 apprenticeships.

The nuclear sector is also striving for greater diversity, setting a workforce target of 40% women in the industry by 2030—this number is currently 44% at the managerial level for Sizewell C. The ‘G’ in ESG is, to a significant extent, specific to corporate arrangements of a particular project. Sizewell C will put in place strong and effective governance arrangements that would be expected of a large corporate acting in the public interest.

More generally, the nuclear industry has a number of inherent characteristics that give rise to strong governance.

These include the need to demonstrate to the UK nuclear regulator that the operating company has an appropriate level of organisational capability, expertise, and suitable governance arrangements to ensure nuclear safety and environmental protection, whilst embedding a culture of continuous improvement.

There is a compelling ESG case for nuclear and it is important that these strengths are recognised in the financial community and by other stakeholders. Doing so will help projects secure the capital they need from the growing ESG investment market, whilst also reducing financing costs leading to savings on consumer bills. This will ensure that the potential ESG benefits of nuclear projects are turned into reality, driving the UK’s efforts to achieve net zero.

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Cyclife UK becomes the nuclear decommissioning market-facing entity of the EDF Group in the UK BY. ROSA TOMÉ AND DAVID HOWORTH ⁄ CYCLIFE UK

After more than 15 years of experience in the decommissioning of its nuclear facilities in France, EDF is expanding its UK presence. Cyclife, founded as part of the EDF Group in 2016 in the UK, has now launched a new Decommissioning business line in the UK.

C

yclife UK becomes the market-facing entity of the EDF Group for nuclear decommissioning. In addition to its existing Waste Management consultancy and services, Cyclife UK will now offer customers support with the development of graphite reactor dismantling tools from Graphitech, 3D scenario and dose modelling from Cyclife Digital Solutions, and a range of advanced engineering design skills and peer review/ benchmarking from Cyclife Engineering.

Cyclife has launched its decommissioning business in the UK with the recruitment of a team of specialists led by Emmanuelle Chardon. “As well as developing a team of UKbased decommissioning specialists, we are strongly supported

by EDF’s existing decommissioning teams and in particular the formation of Cyclife sister companies such as Graphitech”, Emmanuelle Chardon explained.

Graphitech is a joint venture company established in 2019 between Cyclife and Veolia Nuclear Solutions. It aims to create technological developments providing graphite reactor dismantling scenarios, as well as engineering, design, manufacture and the certification of the tooling for decommissioning nuclear reactors that use graphite technology. Graphitech has designed the first remotely-operated tools and full-scale graphite reactors decommissioning demonstrator under construction in Chinon.

Construction of the first graphite reactors decommissioning demonstrator in the world In France, nuclear decommissioning involves prompt dismantling of structures and, to facilitate that, Graphitech and the nuclear Decommissioning and Waste Projects Department of EDF have laid down the foundation stone of this unique industrial demonstrator site dedicated to graphite reactor decommissioning.

This demonstrator aims to develop remotely operated tools and special machines, and to validate processes for the decommissioning of UNGG (Natural Uranium Graphite Gas)

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reactors. The Graphite Reactors Decommissioning Demonstrator is expected to be completed by 2022. This 2,500m2 building, more than 35 metres high, will test the tools used for these delicate operations in advance.

EDF has chosen to begin the decommissioning of its graphite reactors with Chinon A2 reactor as the “first of a kind” UNGG decommissioning project. It is worth noting that Chinon A2 is the most representative of the European graphite reactors and is very similar to the Magnox reactors in UK, Italy and Japan.

This test phase should last eight years, with dismantling starting in Chinon A2 by 2030. Graphitech and EDF will then be able to tackle the five other French EDF graphite reactors: Chinon A1 and Chinon A3, and those of Bugey and Saint Laurent, and plan to collaborate with British power stations as well.

A broad range of services across the decommissioning lifecycle Cyclife has been paving the way for the UK nuclear industry to adopt a value-driving waste-led decommissioning approach for over ten years.

“Through this unique combination of strategic planning, cutting-edge decommissioning technologies, site execution and embedded waste management services with full nuclearliability transfer, Cyclife’s customers can take a new, holistic approach to decommissioning that will reduce interfaces, save time and cost, and ensure the safe delivery of clear and tangible progress.”, commented Joe Robinson, Managing Director of Cyclife UK. Through the new Decommissioning business Line, Cyclife UK will specifically offer services to customers across the decommissioning lifecycle such as: → Decommissioning strategy and scenario development

pre-and post-defueling → Full-site decommissioning planning and implementation → Specialist engineering and design services → Specialist waste management and environmental

consultancy services

→ Project planning, management and controls → On and off-site waste management services

he Demonstrator would enable to test the tools that will be used during T the decommissioning of EDF’s graphite reactors

Inno4Graph, a European project to build international partnership on graphite decommissioning The Graphite Reactors Decommissioning Demonstrator will be used as a centre of international cooperation through programmes such as Inno4Graph, and indeed it is hoped that further collaboration between EDF and Magnox can also be agreed.

Stephane Beguin, Managing Director of Graphitech, said “Bringing together the skills of Cyclife and Veolia within a single entity enables a pooling of graphite reactor know-how and deep technical experience in remote handling to bring the best technical solutions to this sector.

“The decision of the UK NDA to allow different dismantling strategies to be applied across the Magnox fleet means that there is significant opportunity to help assist Magnox in planning and delivering its approach to Continuous Reactor Dismantling.”

The Inno4Graph project, funded by the European Commission, is led by EDF and brings together thirteen European partners such as the Spanish radioactive waste management agency Enresa, the Italian State owned company responsible for decommissioning and waste management SOGIN, the French alternative energies and atomic energy commission CEA, the Lithuanian energy institute LEI, British and Italian universities, and Cyclife’s two subsidiaries Graphitech and Cyclife Digital Solutions.

Its objective is to build international collaboration on the decommissioning of graphite reactors by carrying out common technological developments. Some of these developments will be tested and even qualified in the Graphite Reactors Decommissioning Demonstrator.

Since its acquisition by EDF in 2016, Cyclife in the UK has been requested by its customers to take on increasing complex projects involving consultancy, site works and waste shipments, which provide underpinning core skills to support development of the Decommissioning business line.

The company has previously provided decommissioning support to a portfolio of customers including Magnox, Sellafield and General Electric and already has the systems and personnel in place to deliver a wide range of decommissioning services, including strategy and programme management consultancy, scenario development and analysis, and technical engineering design and delivery.

Cyclife will initially focus on the development of decommissioning strategies and plans for customers particularly bringing to bear expertise developed in the decommissioning of nuclear facilities in France and a waste-led approach.

EDF Graphite Reactors Decommissioning Demonstrator Building

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IN VIEW

Major surface protection works at Hinkley Point C BY. TEGAN OWSNETT ⁄ KAEFER

Protecting the inner containment liner from the elements means more than just a lick of paint for us! As surface protection specialists at Tier 2 on Hinkley Point C, KAEFER know there’s more to watching paint dry than the saying suggests.

The assembly and installation works on the inner containment liner for both Unit 1 and Unit 2 have been a major focus of this year’s construction at HPC. It is also crucial to the safety and integrity of the build that each structure is properly protected from the elements.

Inner containment liner The steel inner containment liner forms the cylinder structure of the main reactor. It is being constructed in five parts: the Liner Cup at the bottom, followed by three cylindrical rings and then the dome sitting on top.

The Liner Cup weighs 170 tonnes, and has a diameter of more than 50m.

Each of the inner containment rings is around 20m high.

Surface protection works to coat the Liner Cup in Unit 2 began in August.

Starting the works on Site was the first big milestone for our team on site.

Trevor Woodward, our Business and Strategy Director observed at the time that “The surface protection is applied as a critical part of the nuclear safety system. The technical process has involved a high level of quality assurance, inspections and stringent health, safety and environmental assessment, so it’s definitely been a long journey to get to the point of applying paint.”

Careful planning and collaboration The team started the painting works in Bunker 5, where Unit 2’s Liner Cup has been preassembled. The KAEFER team has worked closely with Bylor, Tissot and EDF over the past 12 months to plan the specialist coating works around the assembly stages.

The processes for application of the specialist paint systems were developed in close collaboration with the Quality and Environment teams.

The works included mock-ups of the Liner sections, so that the materials could be accurately tested during and after the curing process.

Safe and effective delivery We also designed specialist access and climate controlled containment systems with our Scaffolding, Access and Rescue teams, which is also crucial to ensure the safe and effective delivery of the blasting and painting works.

Our team will go on to paint Unit 1’s Liner Cup in situ on the first Reactor Building, as well as the remaining three containment rings and domes for each unit after they are assembled in Bunkers 5 and 6.

Trevor Woodward highlighted the importance of incorporating lessons from experience as the project proceeds to improve efficiency: “This is a complex and challenging project and this is why it’s critical that we are a learning organisation. At each stage we capture return on experience and make continuous improvements to our procedures and coordination processes.

“It’s a rare privilege to work on a build of such scale and magnitude as HPC. The project approach is ideally suited to our KAEFER LEAN culture. We want to do everything we can to help the Project achieve its milestones and reduce time spent on all activities, but especially focusing now on these works on the path to Dome Lift.”

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FUN FACT! OVER THE DURATION OF THE PROJECT KAEFER WILL BLAST, PRIME AND APPLY SPECIALIST PROTECTIVE COATINGS TO MORE THAN 30,000M2 OF LINER STEEL AND APPLY MORE THAN 25,000 LITRES OF PAINT.

2020 | WINTER — 15

Blueprint for Future Nuclear Power BY. D. BRADBURY, G.R. ELDER AND D.J. HEBDITCH ⁄ TÜV UK LTD ASSOCIATES

Nuclear fission power is essential to cut carbon dioxide emissions, but there is room to improve nuclear technology.

The disposal of waste, addressed here, remains one challenge.

The technical methods to overcome this challenge have been known about since the very beginning of the nuclear age. Fast neutron reactors, for example, have the potential to utilise a far higher proportion of the uranium than current thermal neutron reactors.

Much technical progress has been made on individual parts of the problem, but we can integrate these improvements into a more coherent plan. The plan needs to involve better nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management as well as better reactors.

The idea of recycling nuclear waste to reduce its long term hazard is not new, but the objective we propose is to split spent nuclear fuel into two streams, one which can be recycled as new nuclear fuel and the other being “fission product canisters” which can conform to standards of “low level waste” suitable for shallow burial.

These latter could be disposed of immediately without committing future generations to guarding them on the surface and then emplacing them in deep burial facilities in the distant future.

“Just in time” methods can be used to avoid accumulating large stocks of hazardous nuclear materials. With careful design, this can be achieved economically and it is reasonable

to require that waste from future nuclear projects should be immediately and fully resolved in this way.

Nuclear power should also be available for uses beyond electricity generation, such as hydrogen production and to consumers outside those countries which have substantial nuclear expertise.

Nearly all nations safely enjoy the benefits of aviation, but the majority rely on just a few countries for special capabilities such as constructing airliners. A similar pattern needs to develop with nuclear power.

To achieve that, nuclear power must be deployed simply, without requiring sophisticated technical capability within the consumer’s country and without leaving behind waste management and guardianship issues when the deployment is finished. All this must, of course, be accomplished with proper safety, nuclear safeguards and physical security.

This blueprint for future nuclear power also provides a means in due course to address the worldwide legacy of spent nuclear fuel. The vast majority of material in this spent fuel has potential value as recycled fuel—only a tiny proportion of spent fuel is truly “waste”.

The potential locked up in the world’s existing spent fuel (together with stocks of depleted uranium) represents at least 100 years of mankind’s total electricity needs. The resource will last much longer than that if nuclear power is used in conjunction with other low carbon energy sources.

FIGURE 1 - APPLICATIONS OF NUCLEAR REACTORS

This figure shows some examples of how nuclear reactors can be applied.

The ability to produce hydrogen is a key advantage, whether through electricity production and water electrolysis or through thermochemical water splitting.

Nuclear reactors are well suited to complement other low carbon energy sources.

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THIS IS A SUMMARY OF A FULL PAPER CURRENTLY IN PREPARATION

FIGURE 2 – “HUB AND SATELLITE” NUCLEAR POWER There are three potential models to operate nuclear power by a “Hub and Satellite” system, depending on the size of the installation.

Either the nuclear fuel is transported to and taken away from reactors constructed and fixed at the satellite location, or the reactor containing its fuel is transported to and from the satellite site.

Finally, for very small installations the fully integrated electricity generating capability (a mini power plant) can be transported to and from the satellite.

Improved nuclear power needs to achieve waste reduction by recycling into new nuclear fuel those components which cause the long-term hazard.

This figure shows how that can be achieved.

FIGURE 3 - SUSTAINABLE NUCLEAR POWER WITHOUT LONG TERM WASTE Uranium (lightly enriched or depleted in the 235U isotope) may be added or removed from the cycle for material balance purposes. The irreducible waste of the nuclear process is only a small fraction of spent fuel, and can potentially be used for district heating.

Whether or not the heat is used, the fission product fraction itself can be allowed to stay where it is initially placed without further human intervention once any use is finished.

That is because the hazard will decay (according to Figure 4) to essentially harmless levels before the physical containment fails. “SMR” refers to Small Modular (transportable) Reactor.

FIGURE 4 - RADIOTOXIC HAZARD AS A FUNCTION OF TIME The objective of this Blueprint for Future Nuclear Power is to achieve separation of fission products so that the hazard decay of the waste follows the green curve in this Figure (instead of the red curve for spent fuel itself). Note that the difference between the green and red curves in the Figure arises from constituents which can be recycled.

Fission product isotopes which have very long half-lives but cannot be recycled (such as 129I) do not contribute to hazard in excess of the level of natural uranium ore.

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COP26 and the role of nuclear energy BY. SIMON STUTTAFORD / CASTLETOWN LAW

“IF ENERGY SYSTEMS ARE TO BE FIT FOR PURPOSE FOR THE NEXT TWO OR THREE GENERATIONS, NUCLEAR IS A COHERENT OPTION. FOR COP26 AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS TO ARGUE OTHERWISE IS TO NEGLECT GROWING DEMANDS FOR WORLD ENERGY AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION.”

Image by Tumisu from https://pixabay.com

The Conference of the Parties (COP) of the 1992 United Nations Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) has a mandate to oversee the stabilization of greenhouse gas emissions to prevent “dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”.

The November 2021 COP in Glasgow is an opportunity to present a united and coherent front with the UK playing a leading role in the international climate change agenda.

The UK is the first major economy to commit by law to a net zero carbon target by 2050, although other countries have followed suit. China, for example has recently pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2060 although precise measures remain to be seen.

Despite the UK government`s commitment, the UK Committee on Climate Change has warned of major challenges for the next round of budgets under the 2008 Climate Change Act. The UK can continue, however, to lead the world by examples of mandated objectives and policy.

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These can inf luence the global policy agenda and emphasise the important role nuclear can play in the global fight against climate change, especially if the government follows through on its support for large-scale nuclear projects and the development of SMRs and AMRs as leading global technologies.

Whilst the goal of international climate change regulation is clear and unambiguous, many consider the UNFCC principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDR) outdated. CBDR focuses on greenhouse gas emissions of industrialised nations but excludes significant contributors. Whilst the UNFCCC sets out goals and principles it lacks detailed commitments.

In an attempt to add teeth to the UNFCCC, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol came into force in 2005. The Protocol imposed specific obligations on industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions reflecting their capacities within set commitment periods.

It also allowed for “burden-sharing” so that emissions reductions can be

aggregated by agreement. The EU took advantage of this approach for the first Kyoto “commitment period.”

The Protocol introduced market-based instruments; “Joint Implementation”, “Clean Development Mechanism” and “Emissions Trading”.

The Kyoto Protocol had its failings.

Although United States President, Bill Clinton, signed the treaty, the US Senate never ratified it. The distinction between developed and non-developed countries (the CBDR principle) caused damaging schisms. Many developed countries criticised the lack of obligations imposed on less developed countries, like China and India, which are big contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

For some, the disparity threatens the reductions achieved by more developed countries. Others see Kyoto as a failure for not reaching targets to reduce emission levels. Subsequent COP meetings looked to progress post-Kyoto commitments. A second commitment period for 2013-2020 was agreed in 2012 (under the Doha Amendment) but progress stalled.

If energy systems are to be fit for purpose for the next two or three generations, nuclear is a coherent option. For COP26 and national governments to argue otherwise is to neglect growing demands for world energy and emissions reduction.

Nuclear energy production can support industrialised heat applications, the production of synthetic fuels, hydrogen fuels and water desalination, as well as generate zero-carbon electricity. Renewables cannot do the work of decarbonisation alone.

Germany is gradually retiring its nuclear f leet, but despite investments in renewable sources, it has become the largest consumer of coal and largest emitter of carbon in the EU to make up for the shortfall. It also imports a significant amount of energy from France, which generates most of its electricity from nuclear power.

A blend of energy sources is needed to secure a balance and various factors should be examined. Limiting the analysis to a “Levelized Cost of Electricity” is to account only for the financial cost. Other important considerations include: system flexibility; energy security; consumer prices (over the duration); storage options; flexibility in use; ability to provide both baseload and follow-on load.

The lifetime of a nuclear energy plant is generally more than double that of other forms of generation and provides a secure supply of energy on a multi generation basis. A balance of varied low carbon energy sources including nuclear fits the bill.

Nuclear has a place at the climate change table and we propose that the nuclear card is played to its full potential.

Perhaps the forthcoming UK government’s statement on UK energy policy will embrace nuclear to help save the world from what many consider to be an impending climatic disaster.

This is an abridged form of an article, the full version of which you can find on Castletown Law’s website at www.castletownlaw.com

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Image by Gerd Altmann from https://pixabay.com

In 2015 the Paris Agreement was agreed at COP21. It introduced instruments to limit the global temperature rise to 2°C with an aspiration to keep below 1.5°C such as Nationally Determined Contributions, Adaptation and Mitigation measures. The principle of CBDR persists but is more nuanced. Now all parties have obligations although some have more defined contributions in specific areas (i.e.

Climate Finance and Adaptation).

Although not a perfect agreement, Paris did represent a consensus approach until the United States’ formal withdrawal on 4 November 2019 (effective on 4 November 2020). It is generally acknowledged that a lack of a comprehensive global approach is a recipe for disaster for the planet.

A key element of the Paris agreement is the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), designed to capture a member’s contributions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

These NDCs need to be communicated every five years (the next round is due in November 2020). A further significant requirement is for a global stocktake every five years to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the agreement and to inform further individual actions.

The next global stocktake is due by 2024.

Post-Paris, discussions have focused on how to build on the fundamentals of the Paris Agreement. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special report on Global Warming (published in October 2018) is worth considering. It looks at pathways to keep the global temperature rise at or below 1.5°C. Nuclear plays a significant role in most of these scenarios, whilst recognising that individual countries will have different views on nuclear. It is time for COP to promote and include nuclear power at the top of the low carbon energy mix agenda.

Investment in fusion energy boosts British economy BY. NICK HOLLOWAY / UKAEA

The British economy has gained £1.4 billion from the Government’s direct investment in fusion energy over the past decade and an average of 4,000 jobs each year.

The findings were revealed in an economic study conducted by London Economics and released in late November by the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (‘BEIS’).

London Economics looked at the financial and economic impacts of the UK’s public investments in the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (‘UKAEA’) fusion research from 2009-2019 and found: → Allocated

funding of £346.7 million resulted in a direct gain of £1.4 billion;

→ For

every £1 invested in UKAEA, approximately £4 is generated in return;

→ Approximately

36,900 direct and indirect job years were created through direct employment and related activities—equivalent to the creation of 4,000 jobs on average each year;

→ The

FOR EVERY £1 INVESTED IN UKAEA, APPROXIMATELY £4 IS PUMPED BACK INTO THE ECONOMY UKAEA HAS HELPED INDUSTRY WIN OVER £360 MILLION FROM THE ITER INTERNATIONAL FUSION PROJECT 2,590 FUSION RESEARCH PAPERS PUBLISHED IN 2009-2018 UKAEA’S FUNDING BETWEEN 2009-2019 WAS £346.7 MILLION, WHICH HAS CONTRIBUTED £1.4 BILLION TO THE UK ECONOMY

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UK economy gained up to £363.7 million from contracts directly won by UK organisations for the international fusion megaproject, ITER;

→ UKAEA’s

contribution to understanding of fusion energy was identified to be significant, with UKAEA having increased the volume, quality and reputation of UK fusion and related research. Without UKAEA, the field of fusion research in the UK would likely be heavily fragmented with far less cooperation;

→ Advances

to “fusion-adjacent” technologies through technology transfer from fusion. These include advancements in robotics, developments of new materials and contributions to computing and artificial intelligence. Future applications are expected in other fields, such as space exploration, mining and healthcare, and transport;

→ Indirect

benefits in upskilling of the UK workforce through an improvement in skills, knowledge transfer between academia and industries, improved fusion reactor designs and the creation of standards for fusion and contribution to public policy and strategy.

Fusion energy is a form of low-carbon energy whereby the power of the sun is replicated on earth. At equal mass to traditional energy sources, fusion energy releases nearly four million times more energy than the burning of coal, oil or gas, and four times as much as nuclear fission reactions. It promises minimal impact to the environment, long-term reliability and weather independence.

In addition to the direct benefits listed in the report, fusion research is expected to deliver numerous additional economic gains, such as market, network and knowledge spillovers, which arise when economic activities in one part of a market have effects elsewhere.

The study provides strong evidence that there are already significant benefits f lowing from the UK Government’s investment in fusion.

This points to significant future benefits to the UK economy from further development, demonstration and commercialisation of fusion technology over the coming decades.

Since the report was compiled, the UK Government has announced £220 million of funding for UKAEA’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (‘STEP’) fusion power plant programme.

Professor Ian Chapman, UKAEA CEO, said: “The report highlights much that is positive about UKAEA’s work. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg with regards to UKAEA’s capabilities and fusion energy’s projected contribution to our shared economic, ecological and social future.

“Fusion energy research and development needs long-term and largescale investments.There are substantial benefits fusion research and development can deliver not only to the economy, but also to the UK’s net zero target by 2050, which means going beyond the decarbonisation of electricity.

“Our mission is to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy and maximise scientific and economic benefit.”

The report, The impact of the UK’s public investments in UKAEA fusion research, is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-ofthe-uks-public-investments-in-ukaea-fusion-research.

SNAPSHOT

Nuclear will be at the heart the UK’s energy transition Assystem has welcomed the UK Government’s green light for nuclear projects that will boost jobs across UK regions and place nuclear as a cornerstone of the UK’s plan to reach Net Zero.

The £525million investment to help develop large and smaller-scale nuclear plants and research and develop new advanced modular reactors, outlined in the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, will create thousands of new jobs in the UK and kick start a new UK-based industry to manufacture SMRs. The news also opens new clear career paths for young engineers, who will now be able to work on sustainable projects for the next decade within several UK regions, while also offering opportunities to those who are working in sectors facing difficulties, with Assystem working on potential bridges between these industries and nuclear.

Assystem’s UK Managing Director, Simon Barber said: “The news that nuclear

power will have a key role in the UKs future low carbon energy mix is a major boost for jobs in the regions.

“The SMR programme in full flight will stimulate 40,000 regional UK jobs in manufacturing, construction and operation and Sizewell C will help provide 25,000 jobs opportunities across 2,500 companies in the UK. “Nuclear projects are major energy infrastructure projects and Assystem is looking for the engineers, project managers, recruiters and graduates who are hungry for the opportunity to join us in building the UK’s green economy.”

Assystem plans to capitalise on growth in the sector to achieve better representation from women in the industry through their #INCREDIBLEWOMEN programme, that is focused on improving the recruitment, retention and evolution of women inside Assystem, to support the UK nuclear industry’s goal of reaching 40% of women in nuclear by 2030.

Assystem is seeking candidates for

roles in project management, nuclear safety, mechanical engineering, systems engineering, safety engineering and EC&I engineering roles across the North West, South West, North East and Midlands regions.

In West Scotland, Assystem is also seeking mechanical, electrical, HV, controls and instrumentation and electrical engineering roles, the latter in the field of Transmission and Distribution.

As the world’s second largest nuclear engineering company, Assystem is both a Tier 1 supplier at Hinkley Point C, and a consortium member of the UK SMR programme.

To find out more visit

https://jobs.assystem.com To apply for the 2021 graduate engineering scheme, send a CV and covering letter to

graduates@assystem.com

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2020 | WINTER — 21

NDA plans for integrated waste management programme BY. DAN GOULD ⁄ NUCLEAR DECOMMISSIONING AUTHORITY

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The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has set out its plans for an integrated waste management programme, which it believes has the potential to revolutionise the way the nuclear industry manages waste…and save billions for the UK taxpayer.

The NDA’s radioactive waste strategy of 2019, committed to the creation of an Integrated Waste Management (IWM) programme that would mean more sustainable, efficient and intelligent ways of managing both radioactive and non-radioactive waste. This new approach would lead to greater value for the UK taxpayer.

The new approach for dealing with waste includes moving towards a more ‘risk informed’ approach based on the chemical and physical properties of the waste, rather than just the current radiological classification.

Corhyn Parr, the NDA’s Director of Integrated Waste Management, said: “By fundamentally re-looking at the way we manage conventional and radioactive waste, we have a real opportunity to bring greater flexibility and improve efficiency—from treatment, through to packaging and disposal.

“By working more collaboratively, at all points along the waste lifecycle, we will gain a greater understanding about the

UK’s waste inventory and we can work alongside the supply chain to bring in innovative techniques and technologies.”

As the decommissioning and clean-up work progresses at the UK’s 17 oldest nuclear sites, managing waste becomes an even more important part of the NDA’s mission. Waste management accounts for around £25 billion of the whole nuclear provision. But moving to an integrated, full lifecycle approach, the NDA aims to reduce that bill by over £2 billion.

“New treatment and disposal options can be opened up across the NDA group giving us opportunities to significantly reduce the volumes of waste we package and place in interim storage as higher level waste” added Corhyn.

“Innovation from within the NDA group businesses and our supply chain can have a massive impact on reducing processing, packaging and disposal costs.

“We’ve identified significant benefits by using new techniques, such as the thermal treatment of intermediate and higher activity waste prior to interim storage and eventual disposal within the Geological Disposal Facility—an approach that is already used for a range of waste types worldwide” The use of thermal technologies is just one option that could offer substantial

benefits, such as significantly reducing the volume of packaged wastes and placing the wastes in a more passively safe form.

Implementing such changes in the waste management strategy, across the NDA group, would see huge savings through avoiding the need to construct new waste treatment and storage facilities.

The scope to reduce waste management costs goes much further than just using the latest technology; re-evaluating the types of waste sent for disposal is another area with huge potential for improved efficiency.

Driving a risk informed approach enables current treatment and disposal infrastructure to be optimised, and identifies where new infrastructure is required.

For example, while a GDF will always be required to provide the deep isolation necessary for the UK’s most hazardous waste, the NDA is exploring the feasibility of near surface disposal for some lower-hazard or shorter-lived intermediate level waste.

Corhyn said: “Our aspiration is to see a wider range of both treatment options and disposal routes developed, supporting more flexible and efficient delivery of the NDA’s decommissioning mission.”

orhyn Parr, The NDA’s Director of Integrated Waste Management, C announced plans for an Integrated Waste Management (IWM) Programme at a event Infront of a virtual audience made up of independent stakeholders, regulators, local authorities and representatives from the supply chain.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Jacobs to lead EU-funded power plant research Jacobs was selected to lead an international consortium whose cutting-edge research could lead to extensions in the operational lifespan of nuclear power plants around the world.

The INCEFA-SCALE program (INcreasing safety in nuclear power plants by Covering gaps in Environmental Fatigue Assessment) aims to reduce uncertainties about how critical components will perform when subjected to the harsh conditions inside operational nuclear power reactors.

Although components and materials are extensively tested in laboratories, there are sometimes gaps in understanding the correlation between these tests and actual performance. This can lead to fatigue assessment parameters being set more conservatively than necessary.

The research will fill in those gaps by means of extensive data mining in international fatigue databases and detailed examination of test specimens to improve mechanistic understanding.

Greater certainty about component performance will avoid unnecessary closures of nuclear power plants when they are still economically viable and safe to operate.

Rolls-Royce has signed a contract with Hinkley Point C for the delivery of safety critical Bibloc® pressure transmitters for the two EPR nuclear reactors currently under construction.

As part of this contract, Rolls-Royce will provide 140 safety classified (K1) Bibloc® pressure transmitters, which will perform flow, level and pressure measurements of the Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS).

Robert Sommacal, Rolls-Royce Civil Nuclear France, Business Unit Director, said: “We are delighted to be a part of the Hinkley Point C project. We will contribute to ensure the nuclear safety of the reactors, which will generate safe, reliable and low-carbon electricity for 60 years.

“This contract is further proof of the excellence of our Bibloc® technology and of the specific expertise of our teams”.

Qualified for 60 years of operation, Bibloc® pressure transmitters are designed and manufactured by RollsRoyce I&C teams based in Grenoble, and have already been chosen to be implemented in more than 90 nuclear reactors worldwide.

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Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions International Senior Vice President Clive White said: “Jacobs has demonstrated its capability to knit together an international consortium and to bring together the very best, complementary capabilities, “The European Union has sanctioned this follow-on project while the predecessor project is still live, which testifies to the success of the consortium and the relevance of the study topic to nuclear plant safety and lifetime assessments.”

Operator of the UK’s largest independent nuclear laboratory complex in Birchwood Park, Warrington, Jacobs will contribute to multiaxial, thermo-mechanical and complex waveform testing to provide greater insight into the stresses and strains placed on components. This work will complement component scale tests being carried out in the US by the Electric Power Research Institute, in collaboration with INCEFA-SCALE. The European Union is providing most of the funding for the five-year, $8.1 million INCEFA-SCALE program, which is a continuation of the previous INCEFA-PLUS program, where Jacobs have led a 16-member European consortium since 2013.

Rolls-Royce to supply pressure transmitters to Hinkley Point C

Nuclear Skills Awards nominations open Nominations are invited for individuals and companies for the UK Nuclear Skills Awards 2021. Nominations are open to all companies working in, or with, the nuclear sector in the UK. The UK Nuclear Skills Awards are a collaborative event organised by NSAN and Cogent Skills to recognise and celebrate exceptional individuals and companies in the nuclear sector.

This year welcomes several new award categories to introduce some company-wide awards, alongside shining a spotlight on some the industry’s inspirational response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There will also be the opportunity for people to get involved in the judging of some of the awards in by virtue of online voting later this year.

In response to the current Coronavirus restrictions across the UK, the 2021 UK Nuclear Skills Awards ceremony is being planned as an online event. All panel interviews will be held online to ensure everyone’s safety.

Closing date for all applications is 4pm on 11 December 2020. Further information and links to application packs can be found via https://www.nsan.co.uk/page/ UKNuclearSkillsAwardsonline2021.

Eadon awarded Sellafield Enabling Innovation Framework

Capula successfully deliver prototype design for Hinkley Staffordshire based Capula has successfully delivered a first of a kind prototype design for the safety classified Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Marshalling Cabinets for Hinkley Point C. The cabinets will link the station’s control systems together and will play a vital role in the station’s long-term operations.

The bespoke cabinet prototype, designed to meet the customer requirements, has been engineered at Capula’s industrial design and manufacturing facility in Stone and is currently undergoing inspection and quality checks prior to final qualification and acceptance for manufacture.

The prototype benefits from a fully optimised and ergonomically designed solution that will better support the final installation and wiring of the system.

Paul Bayliss, Capula Operations Director, said: “Designing and delivering a fit for purpose prototype is critical to the success of the project, it enables us to better understand the design and manufacturing process and seek valuable feedback from both our customer and manufacturing technicians.

This will ensure our final designs are fully optimised prior to manufacture so that we can we deliver a high-quality, right first time solution in line with the project’s demanding schedule”.

Dan Hawksworth, senior project manager within EDF’s electrical works programme, said: “The completion of the marshalling cabinet prototype represents a significant milestone not only for this contract, but the wider MEH programme.

“Moving into the next key phase we are confident the optimised design will be successful in meeting the qualification requirements, enabling the team to move on to the challenging series build of the marshalling cabinets.”

The new nuclear power station in Somerset will help the UK cut its emissions to Net Zero and produce enough reliable low carbon electricity to meet 7% of the country’s needs.

Eadon Consulting has recently been awarded a place on The Enabling Innovation Framework (EIF) agreement with Sellafield Ltd. This appointment will help Eadon to support Sellafield in maintaining and strengthening its ability to act as an intelligent client, through integrated and shared learning. The focus will be to encourage and support the creation of a culture that is more open to innovation rather than the delivery of projects.

The EIF Scope is primarily around the initial identification of a business need and framing, studies, developing functional requirements and preparing business cases. Eadon will also provide targeted interventions through all stages of subsequent scope development, execution, post investment appraisal and learning from experience across the whole of the Sellafield Ltd business.

Eadon Director James Hill said, “Being awarded a place on this framework agreement is something we are very proud of. We have demonstrated our ability to develop innovative solutions within the nuclear sector over the last few years, this opportunity will allow us to strengthen that. It also gives us a good basis to continue to grow Eadon into the future.”

2020 | WINTER — 25

New Chairs for Business Groups BY. STEPHANIE MCKENNA

O

ne of the benefits NIA offer our member companies is access to our extensive business group programme. In “normal” times these are run like mini events across the UK throughout the year and are regularly attended by 100+ members.

The provide a great opportunity to find out what is happening across the civil nuclear sector in all areas of the industry as well as meeting other NIA members.

During lockdown we have continued to update our members using a virtual platform. We are very excited to welcome three new chairs for our groups Connor, Marc and Matt and along with Gareth, Chris and the New2Nuclear team—Beth, David and Harvey—we look forward to continue bringing you a great programme of events in 2021.

Connor Deehan, Chair - Decommissioning and Existing Generation

The NIA Decommissioning and Existing Generation working group (DEG) and the collaboration between its members have a key role to play to progress organisational objectives and the industry’s ambitious Nuclear Sector Deal [NSD] objectives.

Through driving toward these NSD objectives I believe the industry, but specifically this sector, provides a vehicle for economic recovery and therefore opportunities for the school leavers and new talent, the supply chain, site licence holders and ultimately UK Plc. I’m delighted to be working with industry to make a demonstrable impact on how we do this.

Marc Duret, Chair - New Build I am delighted and proud to take over the role of New Build group chair. In such fast changing times, I will work with the NIA team, other NIA chairs and members to make the group a place for sharing industry connections and market outlooks.

I aim to provide members with sufficient New Build insight to help them make the strategic moves to grow prosperous businesses and very much looking forward to working with you all.

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Matthew Gallimore, Chair - Fusion The UK’s ambition to develop commercial fusion power by 2040 has placed significant focus on the reality of fusion energy.

The UKAEA’s experiments present opportunities for the nuclear supply chain and the Fusion Group will be the link between this emerging industry and NIA member businesses who have the skills and capability to bring to these research programmes.

Over the last three months we have helped hundreds of nuclear professionals enrich their commercial understanding through our N2N Tea Break Talk series. We are also currently hosting free to attend professional mentoring sessions. These are led by an experienced training consultant, and cover themes from presentation skills to mind-set and resilience.

Looking ahead to 2021, we will continue to build on our Tea Break Talks sessions to cover relevant, interesting and emerging issues including China’s impact in nuclear and nuclear energy policy. We will also expand our core skills sessions to delve deeper into mastering professional skills. Finally, we will work with NIA members and industry partners to develop a N2N Mentoring scheme, linking new starts with business leaders from across the industry.

If you are interested in getting involved, or would like more info you can email us at n2n@niauk.org.

Beth Wisely

David Salter

Harvey Johnson

Core Skills Session - Mindset of Success and Resilience

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NEW NIA MEMBERS

NOT A MEMBER? To find out about the work of NIA and benefits of membership visit www.niauk.org/about-us/ membership-benefits.

You will find more information on our business group meetings, monthly updates and our exclusive online trade directory.

To discuss membership options available to your company please call +44 (0)20 7766 6651 or email stephanie.mckenna@niauk.org

JOIN NIA TODAY

Newton Europe newtoneurope.com Babcock Training Ltd babcockinternational.com Through its internal technical training capabilities and Assured Supply Chain partners Babcock is able to deliver a wide range of high quality technical and non-technical training to support maintenance and development of a SQEP workforce and provide bespoke learning management systems to demonstrate compliance for a UK nuclear site.

Amentum amentum.com Amentum is a premier global government partner whose experience, passion and purpose drive mission success.

It supports its government clients in the UK and internationally to safely manage and deliver critical nuclear services.

Split into three business units, Amentum operates to serve, maintain, protect and support the most discerning and critical programmes in nuclear and environment, mission support and sustainment, threat mitigation and mission assurance.

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Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP huntonak.com With 1,000 lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters.

Its integrated, multidisciplinary energy team advises on every facet of the energy landscape—from project finance and development, to the acquisition and disposition of power and renewables.

Newton specialises in rapidly implementing change and transformation programmes within complex environments. This includes working alongside some of the largest organisations and equipment programmes, including licensed nuclear sites.

It is so confident in what it can achieve together with its clients, that it stakes 100% of its fees against delivering results recognised by everyone from the frontline to the boardroom.

Westlakes Recruit westlakesrecruit.co.uk/ Westlakes Recruit provide recruitment, search and consultancy services to global nuclear and infrastructure markets, from its headquarters in Cumbria.

It supports SME’s, asset owners, operators, consultancies, engineering and construction organisations.

Westlakes Recruit are agile, integrated and collaborative in nature; with a focus on long term relationships, built on constant delivery.

Lincoln Hill Director of Policy & External Affairs lincoln.hill@niauk.org

“WE NEED NUCLEAR FOR NET ZERO, AND THE NUCLEAR WORKERS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY ARE AMONGST THE MOST PRODUCTIVE, SKILLED AND INNOVATIVE OF ANY SECTOR”

While the UK grid has been struggling in recent weeks, the Number 10 grid has also had a torrid time. Strains of dealing with the COVID-19 crisis have meant that key announcements have been moved around constantly, reducing the most confident political forecasters to the status of ordinary punters.

However, we don’t think that the personnel shake-up at Number 10 will affect the Government’s attitude to nuclear power at all.

Indeed, the Prime Minister only recently unveiled the 10 Point Plan that supported both large-scale and small-scale nuclear reactors, provided additional funding for development of SMRs and AMRs, citing specific potential of high-temperature AMRs to produce clean hydrogen.

Then followed the Chancellor’s Spending Review and a National Infrastructure Strategy that publicly acknowledged that ministers are considering providing government financing during the construction phase of nuclear projects.

To top it off, the Government rejected the National Infrastructure Commission’s National Infrastructure Assessment that the UK only approve one more large-scale nuclear project by 2025.

The good news does get better on closer examination. The NIA has long argued that we need both large and small-scale reactors, so to have the Government back both technologies was a heartening victory.

It was also encouraging to see nuclear take its place alongside other low-carbon

technologies such as wind, instead of being positioned as a competitor.

Moreover, the Government engaged with the argument that we and many others in the industry have been making, that nuclear technology can produce clean hydrogen, to make that a truly net zero solution.

The 10 Point Plan specifically acknowledged that AMRs offer the potential to generate zero-carbon power and utilise the heat produced to split water without having to divert any electricity and targeted a demonstrator AMR by the early 2030s.

We are confident, though, that our industry can make the case for nuclear as a key source of hydrogen.

The NIA is currently pulling together a paper on hydrogen that pulls together case studies from across our members and will set out clear recommendations on the contribution nuclear can make.

The announcement on financing is also encouraging,. We all knew that ministers were contemplating direct financing of large-scale nuclear projects, but to see it written in black and white is a milestone.

Government financing during construction could reduce the cost of capital, cutting risks and making nuclear power cheaper for the nation.

We are still waiting for the outcome of the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model consultation, but the direction of travel seems to be the right one.

Finally, the Government’s rejection of the NIC’s recommendation on

nuclear was a major victory for the NIA and for the industry. From the start, we strenuously contested the NIC’s analysis, which was deeply flawed, and argued that net zero would require multiple large-scale projects.

Government agreed, noting that “it is important to maintain options by pursuing additional large-scale nuclear projects.”

While we take immense satisfaction from these results, we are not resting.

Our Head of Policy and Public Affairs Ieuan Williams is leading an ambitious programme of engagement with MPs of all parties, as well as our regular cooperation with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Nuclear Energy.

Ieuan has extended this to further APPGs, including on Energy Security, on Mersey Dee and North Wales and on Net Zero. This allows us to take our argument that nuclear is essential to net zero and to levelling up to a broader audience and recruit new advocates.

We have found that MPs are very much open to the contribution nuclear power can make, as all credible expert groups say that we need nuclear for net zero, and the nuclear workers across this country are amongst the most productive, skilled and innovative of any sector.

We approach Christmas and 2021 with a tempered optimism, noting the progress we have made and the job that remains to be done. If you would like to know more about our political engagement, contact me or Ieuan, and we would be more than happy to take the time.

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Supported by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), DECOM2021 will attract delegates from across the sector and will look at reducing nuclear liabilities, from operational to decommissioning and waste management in the UK and abroad.

Following the success of DECOM2018, the 2021 conference will preceed the NDA supply chain event. With high calibre speakers, a wide range of exhibitors and high volume of delegates expected to attend, it will be the leading decommissioning conference of 2021.

A range of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are on offer.* Take an active role in the conference program, while enhancing your company profile and networking directly with your target audience. More details will be made available soon. * Please note you MUST book your space with NDA separately

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