Industry Link - October 2016

IN THIS ISSUE: HINKLEY POINT C GETS THE GO AHEAD, POWERPOLITICS LOOKS AT WHAT LEAVING THE EU WILL MEAN FOR THE NUCLEAR SECTOR, SPX FLOW CELEBRATES 130 YEARS OF ITS GLASGOW FACILITY AND SC INNOVATION LOOK AT HOW DIVERSIFICATION CAN OPEN UP NEW SECTORS

MAGAZINE OF THE UK NUCLEAR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION AUTUMN / 2016

NIAUK.ORG

Nuclear 2016: 13

Speakers Confirmed

BUILDING ON A NUCLEAR LEGACY 22

Designing 19 the ‘Perfect’ Nuclear Project 2 REALISING THE HINKLEY OPPORTUNITY

Innovation Delivered

At the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory, we deliver the right amount of innovation to meet our customers’ needs.

On one level, we might simply drill a hole to analyse underground waste with our integrated microdrilling technology.

At the other extreme, we are developing state-of-the-art power systems to support deep space exploration.

Find out more about what we can do for you at www.nnl.co.uk or email B — AUTUMN | 2016 customers@nnl.co.uk

Welcome to the IndustryLink

Rupert Lewis rupert.lewis@niauk.org

The decision the industry has been waiting for has finally been taken. More than a decade in the making a new nuclear power station will be built in this country.

Hinkley Point C takes centre stage in this edition, but that’s not the only news from EDF Energy. Heysham 2 has broken the record for continuous operation and we mark this special achievement.

Since the last edition, released the day before the referendum, the UK voted to leave the EU and we look at the political and potential industry repercussions of the vote.

Featuring more of our members in this issue, Joe Wilcox, SC Innovation, talks about how they successfully transferred knowledge from another sector into civil nuclear. SPX Flow mark the 130th anniversary of their Glasgow facility and Ivan Baldwin, Carr's Engineering, looks at a recent contract win with Sellafield.

The UK nuclear renaissance is now well and truly underway with good news coming from across industry. However, the political situation looks much more fragile.

The Liberal Democrats voted against its previous support of Hinkley Point C at its party conference and Jeremy Corbyn’s energy manifesto didn't mention nuclear’s important contribution to the energy mix.

This shows we must not be complacent and NIA will continue to press the nuclear case through Industry Link and our other communications channels to ensure Hinkley is not just a one off but is followed by Wylfa Newydd, Moorside and the rest of the new build programme.

IN VIEW

IN THIS ISSUE...

NUCLEAR REMAINS ESSENTIAL FOR UK ENERGY MIX PAGE 21

PAGE 14

PAGE 9 PAGE 10

HOW HINKLEY MADE MY WEEK

NIAUK.ORG Follow us: @NIAUK

Editor - Rupert Lewis Art Editor - Dan Powney Contributors - Tom Greatrex, Sara Crane, Peter Haslam, Ben Chilton – Sellafield Ltd, Dr Colin Elcoate – SPX Flow,Stuart Woodings – Amec Foster Wheeler, Chris Jones – Frazer-Nash Consultancy, Joe Wilcox – SC Innovation, Ivan Baldwin – Carr's Engineering, with additional thanks to World Nuclear News

Nuclear Industry Association is a company limited by guarantee registered in England No. 2804518 Registered Office 5th Floor Tower House 10 Southampton Street London WC2E 7HA TEL +44(0)20 7766 6640 EMAIL info@niauk.org

Press Enquiries Sara.Crane@niauk.org TEL 07803 696 786 Advertisement Enquiries Rupert.Lewis@niauk.org 020 7766 6642

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Membership Enquiries Stephanie.McKenna@niauk.org 020 7766 6651

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Cover image: Courtesy of EDF Energy — www. www.edfenergy.com/energy This magazine is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, using vegetable based inks.

Realising the Hinkley opportunity BY. TOM GREATREX

Sitting in a car on the way to Somerset at midnight at the end of July, I did wonder what else could happen ahead of Hinkley Point C getting the go-ahead.

The EDF board had made its final investment decision that afternoon, but the Government responded with an unexpected announcement to further review the contract they had previously agreed.

I’d just finished an interview on Radio 4’s World Tonight and was on my way to face the barrage of breakfast media who had headed to Hinkley anticipating a signing ceremony.

Almost two months followed and many of the old faces with re-heated versions of their arguments lined up to stick the boot into the project, and nuclear generally.

Getting our voice across in a media which was sceptical and thought it knew which way the wind was blowing was difficult: ‘nuclear trade body thinks Hinkley is the right project for the UK’, didn’t get much traction, where ‘Brangelina’ and a washing machine salesman were hogging the front pages.

Despite this, the case for nuclear is obvious, and clearly, when examined

Hinkley Point C will kickstart Britain’s nuclear revival. It has overcome obstacles and challenges which will benefit our next nuclear projects in Britain. This huge investment has been made possible by the consistent policies of successive Governments to provide secure, affordable, low carbon electricity.

I want to thank our team, our suppliers, trade unions and the people of Somerset for their dedication, determination and patience. Their support has been vital to our success.

Vincent de Rivaz, Chief Executive, EDF Energy

2 — AUTUMN | 2016

in detail, convinced the Prime Minster and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Hinkley will deliver jobs, economic growth and low carbon electricity for decades. Providing the UK with the clean, always on generation required to complement renewables, complete the phase out of coal and reduce our dependence on gas.

In the six weeks of commentary, a variety of alternatives to Hinkley were suggested - including storage, interconnection and energy efficiency. All are likely to play a part in a future electricity mix, but none is a silver bullet.

Grid level storage is far from being developed and, with 65% of the UK’s generating capacity from 2010 due to close by 2030, you can’t gamble the UK’s energy future on wishful thinking.

Greater interconnection with fellow European countries ignores the fact that our weather patterns are very similar and when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing there won’t be enough electricity to go round.

Put simply, each technology has its advantages but each has limitations

which can only be mitigated as part of a mix. This means there is no contradiction in supporting nuclear and renewables, something which industry understands.

Amec Foster Wheeler and EDF are working on wind developments on the Hebridean island of Lewis as well as nuclear at Hinkley. GE Power who will provide the turbines at Hinkley has just won a contract looking at developing technologically-reliable and viable storage.

In fact, the number of companies who are wholly reliant or supportive of just one sector is falling.

Despite a decision having been made and the final go ahead granted for Hinkley, it doesn’t mean the argument will go away.

And in fact the real challenge has only just begun. After years of planning and preparation leading the industry to this point, we now have to deliver.

One outcome of the Government’s review is EDF’s expectation that 64% of the project’s value will be spent in the UK. Hinkley is the biggest single capital project in the UK today, and will unleash a huge wave of investment into UK nuclear.

This presents a huge opportunity for the supply chain and especially for those NIA members who have invested in nuclear for years, readying themselves to grab opportunities with both hands.

Having this project on our doorstep is a huge prospect for businesses large and small and those that can deliver in Somerset will no doubt be in the prime position to win work at Wylfa Newydd, Moorside and beyond.

At Nuclear South West’s annual conference held a week after the Government’s announcement, the excitement was palpable. The region is now only second to the North West in terms of its importance in the industry and with work ongoing in operations, decommissioning and new build, the civil nuclear economic influx is only set to grow.

While it certainly hasn’t felt this way for many of you, the easy part of the job is now finally over and the UK’s first new nuclear station for a generation will definitely go ahead.

Now, both the challenge and the opportunity will be delivering Hinkley.

2016 | AUTUMN — 3

Hinkley Point C is the start of the nuclear new build renaissance in the UK, of which NuGen are an integral part, and today's decision is an essential step towards strengthening the UK security of supply. New nuclear will also help the UK to meet its domestic and international commitments to a low carbon economy.

Tom Samson, Chief Executive Officer NuGeneration Limited

“THE GOVERNMENT IS COMMITTED TO ENSURING THE COUNTRY HAS A SECURE LOW CARBON ENERGY SUPPLY. HINKLEY POINT C WILL BE A CRITICAL PART OF THAT, AND WILL INAUGURATE A NEW ERA OF UK NUCLEAR POWER - BUILDING ON BRITAIN'S STRONG NUCLEAR LEGACY.” GREG CLARK SECRETARY OF STATE BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

“WE NEED A MIX OF NEW GENERATING CAPACITY...

WE ALSO HAVE TO TRANSITION TO LOW CARBON GENERATION. HINKLEY WILL PROVIDE SECURE, RELIABLE LOW CARBON BASELOAD GENERATION AND MEET 7% OF OUR ENERGY NEEDS FOR DECADES TO COME.” GARRY GRAHAM DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY PROSPECT

“ This news is crucial to helping the industry, particularly the local supply chain, to grow the essential nuclear engineering and other specialist skills required for this project.

The UK capability gained from the construction of Hinkley Point C is going to be very important to later projects in Britain’s prospective energy programme.”

Alan Seywright Vice President, UK Nuclear, Jacobs

4 — AUTUMN | 2016

“ GMB is delighted that the first of the badly needed fleet of new nuclear power stations will finally begin construction. This is the right decision for the country and the Government is right to ignore the begrudgers and naysayers”

“THE UK’S NUCLEAR INDUSTRY IS EXPERIENCING A REBIRTH, WITH HINKLEY POINT C SETTING A GLOBAL STANDARD FOR SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION.”

Justin Bowden National Secretary for Energy, GMB

“THE GO AHEAD WAS VITAL FOR CONSTRUCTION WHICH DESPERATELY NEEDED THE CONFIRMATION OF SUCH A MAJOR PROJECT FOLLOWING A SLOWDOWN IN THE INDUSTRY CAUSED BY THE BREXIT VOTE.” BRIAN RYE ACTING GENERAL SECRETARY UCATT

PAUL WALDECK FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF WALDECK CONSULTING

New nuclear is vital for the UK's future electricity mix and so today's announcement on Hinkley Point C is good news for the country's security of supply and clean energy needs.

The emphasis must now be on delivering the Government's vision of a wider nuclear programme in the UK and we remain focused on continuing to make strong progress with our lead Wylfa Newydd project.

Duncan Hawthorne, CEO Horizon Nuclear Power

“ It is excellent news that the uncertainty caused by Theresa May's decision to put Hinkley Point 'on hold' has now been dispelled and that the government recognises the role of nuclear in a mixed energy economy.

It means that the lights will remain on in the UK in the decades ahead and it heralds an economic renaissance for the West Country, with the accompanying creation of thousands of skilled jobs and the positive ripple effects to the supply chain across the UK. It is especially heartening that the new jobs will include 500 much-needed apprenticeships.”

Kevin Coyne National Officer Unite

2016 | AUTUMN — 5

Dounreay Thurso, Caithness dounreay.com

Manchester

PBO: Cavendish Dounreay Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, CH2M Hill, URS)

Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross

Bury North

Salford & Eccles Heywood & Middleton

Worsley & Eccles South

Lifetime: 1955 –1994 Operation: Development of prototype fast breeder reactors and submarine reactor testing People: 800 people with a similar number working for other companies on site

Oldham East & Saddleworth

Makerfield Manchester Central

BY. RUPERT LEWIS

Denton & Reddish

Stockport

Stretford & Urmston

St Helens South & Whiston

Cheadle Altrincham & Sale West

Wythenshawe & Sale East

Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey Aberdeen South

West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine

London Holborn & St Pancras

Hunterston A Power Station West Kilbride, Ayrshire magnoxsites.com

Torness Power Station Dunbar, East Lothian edfenergy.com

Argyll & Bute

PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation)

Edinburgh West

Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill Glasgow Central

Reactor type: 2 x AGR Net capacity: 965 MW Lifetime: 1976–2023 People: 520 full time employees plus 250 full time contract partners

Poplar & Limehouse

Edinburgh South West

Putney

East Lothian

Airdrie & Shotts Livingston

Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk

Chapelcross Power Station Annan, Dumfriesshire magnoxsites.com Moorside Power Station West Cumbria nugeneration.com

East Londonderry

Developer: NuGeneration Ltd Reactor type: AP1000 Estimated net capacity: 3.4 GW

Newcastle upon Tyne Central

PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Reactor type: 4 x Magnox Station lifetime output: 60 TWh Lifetime: 1959–2004 People: 422 full time equivalents

North Tyneside

Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale

Tynemouth Newcastle upon Tyne East

Hexham

Sellafield Seascale, Cumbria sellafieldsites.com Belfast East Belfast South

Springfields Near Preston, Lancashire westinghousenuclear.com/springfields PBO: Westinghouse Electric UK Limited Established: 1946 Operation: Nuclear fuel manufacturing, decommissioning and demolition of redundant plants and buildings People: 1,204 employees

Reactor type: 4x AGR Net capacity: 1155 MW (Heysham1) 1230 MW (Heysham2) Lifetime: 1983–2024 (Heysham 1) 1988–2030 (Heysham 2) People: 530 full time employees plus 200 full time contract partners (Heysham 1) 520 full time employees plus 250 full time contract partners(Heysham 2)

Wylfa Newydd Power Station Cemaes, Anglesey horizonnuclearpower.com Developer: Horizon Nuclear Power Reactor type: 2 x ABWR Estimated net capacity: 2.7 GW

Hartlepool Stockton North

Copeland

Darlington

Thirsk & Malton Morecambe & Lunesdale

Barrow & Furness

Wyre & Preston North

Preston

Blackburn South Ribble

Liverpool Riverside

Established: 1953 Operation: Nuclear fuel manufacturing People: 300 employees

West Lancashire

Birkenhead

Delyn Aberconwy

Warrington South Tatton

Alyn & Deeside

Ellesmere Port & Neston

Stoke-on-Trent Central

Crewe & City of Nantwich Chester

Stoke-on-Trent South

Capenhurst Capenhurst, Cheshire capenhurstnuclearservices.com

Trawsfynydd Power Station Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd magnoxsites.com

Developer: Horizon Nuclear Power Reactor type: 2 x ABWR Estimated net capacity: 2.7 GW Lifetime: 2027–2087

Rushcliffe

North Warwickshire

Daventry

Cambridge

Oxford East

Developer: NNB Generation Company (EDF Energy)

Vale of Glamorgan

Bridgwater & West Somerset

Reactor type: 2 x EPR Estimated net capacity: 3.2 GW

Cardiff Central

Cheltenham Oxford West & Abingdon

Henley

Cardiff South & Penarth

People: 264 full time equivalents

Weston-super-Mare

Basingstoke Romsey & Southampton North

West Dorset

Christchurch

Plymouth, Moor View Plymouth, Sutton & Devonport South West Devon

Hinkley Point B Power Station Bridgewater, Somerset edfenergy.com Reactor type: 2 x AGR Net capacity: 955 MW Lifetime: 1976 –2023 People: 535 full time employees plus 220 full time contract partners

South West Surrey

Epsom & Ewell

Tonbridge & Malling

Poole

Portsmouth North

Winfrith Winfrith Newburgh, Dorset magnoxsites.com PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Lifetime: 1961–1995 Operation: Centre for research and development, including the prototype high temperature gas-cooled reactor, DRAGON, and the Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor People: 470 people across two sites supported by subcontractors from the supply chain

Faversham & Mid Kent

South Thanet

Folkestone & Hythe Mid Sussex

Brighton, Pavilion

New Forest East

Station lifetime output: 60 TWh Lifetime: 1962 –2002 People: 372 full time equivalents

Thurrock

Crawley Horsham

Meon Valley

Fareham South Dorset

Mole Valley

PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Reactor type: 2 x Magnox

Dartford Sevenoaks

Guildford

Winchester

Southampton Test New Forest West

East Devon

Bradwell Power Station Southminster, Essex magnoxsites.com

London

Spelthorne Runnymede & Weybridge Esher & Walton

Wokingham Bracknell Surrey Heath Aldershot

Bath Chippenham Kingswood

Tauton Deane

Exeter

Hertford & Stortford Maldon

Windsor

Developer: NNB Generation Company (EDF Energy) Reactor type: 2 x EPR Estimated net capacity: 3.2 GW

Stevenage

Reading Hemel West Hempstead

Beaconsfield

Newbury

Bristol South

Somerton & Frome

Hinkley Point A Power Station Bridgewater, Somerset magnoxsites.com PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Reactor type: 2 x Magnox Station lifetime output: 103 TWh Lifetime: 1965 –2000

North Somerset

Wantage South Swindon

Sizewell C Power Station Near Leiston, Suffolk edfenergy.com

Ipswich

Reading East

Filton & Bradley Stoke Thornbury & Yate Bristol West

Newport East

Luton South

Suffolk Coastal

Bury St Edmonds

South Cambridgeshire

Bedford

Stroud Cardiff North

Wellingborough

Great Yarmouth

South Norfolk

Established: 1960 Operation: National laboratory providing major contributions to international fusion research and development People: 500 employees

South Northamptonshire

Gloucester

Culham Centre for Fusion Energy Abingdon, Oxfordshire ccfe.ac.uk

Corby

Birmingham Ladywood

Worcester

Norwich South Peterborough

Leicester West

South Leicestershire

Station lifetime output: 43 TWh Lifetime: 1962–1989 People: 213 full time equivalents

Forest of Dean

Ogmore

Nottingham South

Rugby

Birmingham, Erdington

Halesowen & Rowley Regis

PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Reactor type: 2 x Magnox Station lifetime output: 110 TWh Lifetime: 1966–2006 People: 319 full time equivalents

Sleaford & North Hykeham

North West Leicestershire

Tewkesbury

Hinkley Point C Power Station Bridgewater, Somerset edfenergy.com

6 — AUTUMN | 2016

Newark

Charnwood

Meriden

Sizewell A Power Station Near Leiston, Suffolk magnoxsites.com

Reactor type: 1 x PWR Net capacity: 1198 MW Lifetime: 1995 –2035 People: 520 full time employees plus 250 full time contract partners

Mid Derbyshire

Bosworth

Dudley North

PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Reactor type: 2 x Magnox

Carmarthen East & Dinefwr

Lifetime: 1965–2012 People: 403 full time equivalents

Truro & Falmouth

Ashfield

Birmingham, Perry Barr

West Bromwich East Wolverhampton South West Wolverhampton South East

Berkeley Power Station Berkeley, Gloucestershire magnoxsites.com

Oldbury Power Station Oldbury, Gloucestershire horizonnuclearpower.com

PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Reactor type: 2 x Magnox Station lifetime output: 137.5 TWh

Derby North Derby South

Burton

Shrewsbury & Atcham

Montgomeryshire

Oldbury Power Station Thornbury, Gloucestershire magnoxsites.com

Sheffield South East Chesterfield

Stafford

PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Reactor type: 2 x Magnox Station lifetime output: 69 TWh Lifetime: 1965 –1991 People: 365 full time equivalents

Sheffield Central

South Derbyshire

Dwyfor Meirionnydd

Sizewell B Power Station Near Leiston, Suffolk edfenergy.com

Rother Valley

Halton Weaver Vale

Scunthorpe

Wentworth & Dearne

Rotherham

Warrington North

Ynys Môn

Kingston upon Hull East

Cleethorpes

Batley & Spen

Manchester

Wirral South

Selby & Ainsty

Calder Valley

Rossendale & Darwen

Chorley

York Central

Leeds Central Elmet & Rothwell Leeds West

Ribble Valley

Fylde

PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Reactor type: 1 x Magnox Net capacity: 460 MW Lifetime: 1971–2015 People: 620 full time equivalents

PBO: Urenco Ltd Lifetime: 1953 –1982 Operation: Nuclear fuel manufacturing, uranic storage, decommissioning and recycling People: 300 employees

Middlesbrough Stockton South

Westmorland & Lonsdale

PBO: UK Nuclear Waste Management Ltd (URS, Studsvik, AREVA, Serco) Established: 1959 Operation: Repository for the UK’s low level radioactive waste People: 177 employees

Capenhurst Capenhurst, Cheshire capenhurstnuclearservices.com

Wylfa Power Station Cemaes, Anglesey magnoxsites.com

Reactor type: 2 x AGR Net capacity: 1180 MW Lifetime: 1983–2024 People: 530 full time employees plus 200 full time contract partners

Houghton & Sunderland South

Low Level Waste Repository Near Drigg, Cumbria llwrsite.com

Heysham 1&2 Power Station Morecambe, Lancashire edfenergy.com

Sunderland Central

Workington

Established: 1947 Operation: Fuel reprocessing, fuel fabrication and storage of nuclear materials and radioactive wastes People: 10,000 employees

Hartlepool Power Station Hartlepool, Cleveland edfenergy.com

Gateshead Blaydon

Carlisle

Sellafield Seascale, Cumbria sellafieldsites.com PBO: Sellafield Limited Lifetime: 1947–1950 Operation: Fuel reprocessing, fuel fabrication and storage of nuclear materials and radioactive wastes People: 10,000 employees

Bermondsey & Old Southwark

Croydon Central

Edinburgh East

Glasgow Motherwell South & Wishaw East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow Glasgow South West

Central Ayrshire

Kensington

Cities of London & Westminster

Linlithgow & East Falkirk

Glasgow East

Paisley & Renfrewshire North

North Ayrshire & Arran

Dunfermline & West Fife

Bethnal Green & Bow

Uxbridge & South Ruislip

People: 550 full time employees plus 180 full time contract partners

Edinburgh North & Leith

Hunterston B Power Station West Kilbride, Ayrshire edfenergy.com

Brent Central

Reactor type: 2 x AGR Net capacity: 1190 MW Lifetime: 1988–2030

Ochil & South Perthshire

Reactor type: 2 x Magnox Station lifetime output: 73TWh Lifetime: 1964–1990 People: 238 full time equivalents

Islington South & Finsbury

Harwell Harwell, Oxfordshire magnoxsites.com PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Lifetime: 1946–1990 Operation: First centre for nuclear power research in the UK and the site of Europe's first nuclear reactor People: 470 people across two sites supported by subcontractors from the supply chain

Dungeness B Power Station Romney Marsh, Kent edfenergy.com Reactor type: 2 x AGR Net capacity: 1050 MW Lifetime: 1983 –2028 People: 550 full time employees plus 200 full time contract partners

Dungeness A Power Station Romney Marsh, Kent magnoxsites.com PBO: Cavendish Fluor Partnership Ltd (Cavendish Nuclear, Fluor Corporation) Reactor type: 2 x Magnox Station lifetime output: 115 TWh Lifetime: 1966 –2006 People: 269 full time equivalents

“ The Jobs Map shows in a clear and vivid way the range of jobs the civil nuclear industry generates in every part of the United Kingdom.

As an MP with a nuclear station in my constituency, I know the positive impact the industry has in creating highly paid, well-skilled jobs in my area, but the real value of the Jobs Map is in its demonstration of how similarly highly valued jobs extend into virtually every constituency in the country.

Every MP wants to see good and decent jobs in their constituency; the Jobs Map gives a much-needed illustration the precise reach of such jobs by the civil nuclear industry.”

Iain Wright MP Hartlepool

All figures for the Jobs Map are generated from participating NIA Members

The former and now unemployed Primer Minster, David Cameron often used to proudly explain that, “a thousand people found work for every day” he was in Number 10. An extraordinary achievement and the so-called ‘Jobs Miracle’ during his tenure is one strong part of his Brexit skewed legacy.

While it was complete coincidence, the day after he uttered this famous statement again during his resignation speech as MP for Witney, the NIA launched its 2016 Jobs Map in Parliament.

The first time such an event had taken place, it brought together MP’s and NIA members companies from across the supply chain including EDF Energy, Sellafield Ltd, Turner & Odell and many more.

Opening the event Ian Liddell-Grainger MP for Bridgwater said, “this map proves the importance of the nuclear industry to the UK” and that is exactly what it was set up to do.

First put together more than a decade ago, the map which is divided into each Parliamentary constituency, clearly illustrates the number of people working in the UK’s nuclear industry, where each of those workers are based and who employs them.

Overall, the total employment figures show the resurgence of the UK’s nuclear sector over the past two years. Back in 2014, the industry directly employed 54,515 and this year that number has climbed exponentially to 65,791.

The North West remains the hub of the UK’s nuclear sector, with more than 28,000 people employed in the region, the

South West is second with 7,421 and Scotland is home to 3,766 nuclear workers.

It also shows more than a fifth all of all employees are female, almost 2,000 are on an apprenticeship programme and over 1,000 are part of a graduate scheme.

Originally designed as a basic lobbying tool, over the years the map has evolved into something much more useful. Companies use it to scope out local collaborators, and jobseekers use it as a basis to find out where the UK’s nuclear employers are.

When you delve deeper into the statistics the map does indeed tell a much more important story about the sector than simply the number of employees in each constituency. The jobs are mainly away from the South East economic bubble and in much more remote parts of the country where jobs are often hard to come by, in areas like North Wales, Cumbria and the northern-most tip of Scotland.

The Northern Powerhouse has taken some political dents since the referendum but nuclear really is an industry that is powering the north. Tens of thousands of jobs are created and maintained in the region and with a new power station planned at Moorside in Cumbria, its importance is only set to grow.

Have a look and see what information you can find in the Jobs Map on the NIA website –www.niauk.org/nia-industry-maps – you can download a PDF or if you prefer a hard copy get in touch via info@niauk.org with your name and address.

2016 | AUTUMN — 7

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Canada and China join new build forces An agreement in principle has been signed

by Canada’s SNC-Lavalin, China National Nuclear Corporation and Shanghai Electricity to develop, market and construct the Advanced Fuel Candu Reactor (AFCR).

A new company is expected to be registered in mid-2017 and will be followed by the development of two design centres - one in Canada and the other in China. The AFCR is based on the Candu 6 and Enhanced Candu 6 reactors and will feature a heavy-water moderator and heavy-water coolant in a pressure tube design and can use both recycled uranium and thorium as fuel.

SNC-Lavalin President for Power, Sandy Taylor said, “This is a game changer in the nuclear industry, and a great endorsement of our expertise and Candu nuclear technology from the largest nuclear market in the world.”

2

COP21 one step closer The COP21 Climate Change Agreement has crossed the first of the two thresholds required for it to enter into force, after 31 Governments formally submitted their instruments for ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.

It is expected to cross the second threshold, ratification by countries

8 — AUTUMN | 2016

representing a total of 55% of global emissions, later this year.

Sixty countries representing 47.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, including Argentina, Brazil and United Arab Emirates, have now joined the agreement.

China and the USA, two of the world's largest carbon emitters, joined the agreement in September, and Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed the UK will start the procedure to enable ratification of the agreement.

3

AP1000 international progress Westinghouse’s interim President and CEO, José Emeterio Gutiérrez has said two AP1000 reactors are likely to start operating within a year. Hot functional tests at the first-of-a-kind reactor at Sanmen in China are on course to finish in October and fuel loading is expected to take place before the end of the year.

Speaking at the 2016 World Nuclear Symposium, Gutiérrez said, “Hopefully, very soon we will have four AP1000s connected to the grid in China.”

Looking to the future and specifically at India he said, “There is strong commitment from the government of India, specifically from Prime Minister Modi, to grow nuclear in India.” He added “Hopefully by this time next year, we will be talking about a real project, and a project under construction.”

The AP1000 design is approaching the end of the UK regulatory generic design assessment process, which it is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2017.

4

Japan’s reactors key to energy policy The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said the restart of Japan’s nuclear reactor is “critical” for the country’s energy policy. However, IEA did explain, nuclear power can only be restored if the highest safety standards can be met and public trust is regained.

According to IEA, Japan's shut down of its entire fleet of nuclear plants after Fukushima left a gap of some 30% in its electricity supply. A gap filled with expensive, imported fossil fuels.

Electricity prices increased by 16% for households and 25% for industry. By the end of 2015, just two reactors had been restarted and accounted for 0.9% of electricity generation that year, compared with nuclear’s share of 25.3% in 2010.

In its report IEA explain, “The most cost-effective way to begin implementing the Strategic Energy Plan is to restart nuclear power generation at plants that the Nuclear Regulation Authority approves to be safe.”

To date, five reactors have been given final approval to restart, though two of these have remained off line due to a legal challenge.

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

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JOB SWAP

How Hinkley made my week BY. BEN CHILTON ⁄ GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, SELLAFIELD LIMITED

I think if you asked the NIA team what was the most significant week for the UK nuclear industry in recent years, I’m fairly sure they’d say it was the week I joined them for a job swap in September 2016.

This of course has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the Government’s historic decision to give the green light to Hinkley Point C - the first new nuclear power station to be built in this country for a generation.

As a member of the public affairs team at Sellafield I’ve worked alongside the NIA in numerous ways over the years, from collaborating on political party conference events and activities to sharing best practice and swapping information with the external relations steering group. And I’ve often wondered what it must be like to work for a trade association; how you stay on top of your brief when you represent such a diverse and complex industry and how you juggle the various priorities and interests of more than 260 member companies yet still present an engaging and coherent picture to the outside world.

That’s why when they offered me the chance to spend a week finding this all out I jumped at it, and by pure luck ended up at the centre of the biggest nuclear news story in decades.

At the beginning of the week there had been plenty of rumours about a possible Government announcement. Whether we were debating the contribution of nuclear with unions at the TUC congress, launching the Jobs Map to MPs and industry representatives in Westminster, discussing Brexit at the World Nuclear Association symposium or planning a calendar of events with the Chair of the Nuclear Energy All Party Parliamentary Group, this one topic continued to dominate.

I left the office early on the Wednesday afternoon to observe a House of Lords Committee session but media calls had

already begun to come in and Chief Executive, Tom Greatrex was preparing for interviews.

The excitement amongst the team was palpable but also measured, given the Government’s recent pause, and as I emerged from a sweltering Palace of Westminster at the end of another long and absorbing day I still had no idea what I might be waking up to.

Do you remember where you were when you first heard about Hinkley? Well, I was eating cornflakes in the Covent Garden Travelodge as the news scrolled across the ticker on BBC Breakfast. Ten minutes later I arrived at the NIA’s Southampton Street office to find the team already in full swing, taking calls from journalists, liaising with members, preparing briefing papers and conducting live radio interviews on the phone.

As Tom spent the morning doing the rounds of interviews with BBC News, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and others I got to witness the NIA team doing what they do best. Providing a trusted source of information to those who need it, collaborating with members, representing them and keeping them informed, but most of all just getting out there, being part of the conversation and helping members be part of the conversation too.

It was a fascinating week and I’m really grateful for the opportunity and the new appreciation and understanding it has given me. If you get the chance I’d highly recommend you do the same and only hope your week is as exciting as mine was. Given the bright future ahead for the industry I’m sure it will be.

2016 | AUTUMN — 9

SPX FLOW’s ClydeUnion Pumps marks 130 years BY. DR COLIN ELCOATE ⁄ SPX FLOW

2016 marks the 130th anniversary of the founding of the ClydeUnion Pumps manufacturing facility in Glasgow - one of the longest running facilities of its type in the UK. Since opening, it has seen decades of pump manufacturing and many of the UK’s best engineers have been trained at the facility. Its history can be traced back to 1871, when a pump manufacturing operation in Glasgow was opened by brothers George & James Weir, as part of their G & J Weir business. The site, in the Cathcart area of Glasgow, was then opened in 1886, where pumps are still being manufactured to this day.

Over the past 130 years, the facility has developed and manufactured pumps that have been integrated into oil pipelines, power stations and ships. The facility has built a long-standing reputation for excellence that continues to be at the heart of its work today.

Plant Director, Aine Finlayson, reflected on the role that history has in Glasgow, “The facility is a special place with so much on-site history. The site has seen it all from the heyday of the British Empire to producing technologicallyadvanced pumps for the global energy sector. Currently, we are manufacturing pumps that include the TWL™ pump that has been designed specifically to respond to the needs of the global nuclear industry post-Fukushima.”

Indeed, a particular focus of the Glasgow facility is high-end and engineer-to-order manufacturing. Products made in Glasgow are shipped to facilities in 35 countries around the world.

The proud heritage of the Glasgow facility can be seen in the distinctive blue paint job finish that is synonymous with the plant and its products today.

SPX FLOW continues the plant’s great traditions and celebrates the wide ranging archive of the plant by keeping documents and images of the past 130 years.

These documents include the site’s “Apprentice Book” which contains information about all the apprentices that have passed through the doors of the Glasgow facility including current Chief Engineer, Ranald Patrick.

Other apprentices include Nathan Murdoch, who joined the company straight from school at 16 and at the age of 25 now designs and engineers pumps for the global nuclear industry.

The Glasgow apprenticeship system has enabled people like Nathan to gain practical experience of a range of engineering challenges including quality control, manufacturing, project engineering and testing.

According to Nathan, “The apprenticeship has equipped me with the skills needed to work in the modern nuclear industry.

It has given me the platform to see the clear purpose that I was trying to achieve. Importantly, I’ve also gained knowledge of the shop floor from the engineers that I might not have got had I gone straight to university.”

SPX FLOW’s ClydeUnion Pumps facility remains synonymous with pump manufacturing and will contribute equipment to Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. It will be interesting to see what the next 130 years holds for the Glasgow facility.

10 — AUTUMN | 2016

MEDIA WATCH NEWS

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, EDF Energy’s Vincent de Rivaz has said the UK’s nuclear industry faces a series of major challenges despite the Government approval for Hinkley Point C. De Rivaz explains EDF must make Sizewell C “significantly cheaper” than Hinkley, and that “many hurdles” needed to be overcome before Bradwell could be built. He also admitted building Hinkley is still a “huge challenge” but he has “lived and breathed Hinkley Point C for a decade” and “fought the battle every day.”

Writing in Utility Week, the NIA’s Chief Executive Tom Greatrex has explained why the UK needs Hinkey and the wider nuclear new build programme. In the op-ed, Greatrex explains, “Our electricity challenge is enormous… and meeting the challenge will require the use of a range of technologies and innovation.”

Looking to the future, he concludes, “Nuclear is part of the future, just as it has been the underpinning of low carbon power for decades.”

The Government’s decision to give the go ahead for Hinkley Point C generated a wave of media requests for the NIA. Tom Greatrex appeared on ITV News at 10, Good Morning Britain, the BBC News Channel, Sky News and across a number of other outlets.

As explained in the NIA’s press release, the message during all of those appearances was clear, “Hinkley is a truly national project which represents an array of opportunities for the supply chain and a secure foundation for the Government’s industrial strategy… and the UK’s supply chain is ready to deliver this important national infrastructure project, providing reliable, constant electricity as part of a balanced mix.”

The NIA’s Jobs Map was covered across a number of local newspapers focusing on their own specific region. The map highlights the number of jobs created by the UK nuclear industry and shows an overall increase of more than 2,000 on 2015. Updated every year, the map breaks down the figures and shows more than a fifth all of all employees are female, almost 2,000 are on an apprenticeship programme and over 1,000 are part of a graduate scheme.

The North West remains the hub of the UK’s nuclear industry, employing 28,435 people. The South West, home of the UK’s first new nuclear reactor for a generation, has a workforce of 7,421 people.

Interviewed by John Collingridge of the Sunday Times, Duncan Hawthorne, Chief Executive of Horizon Nuclear Power discussed his career in the industry, nuclear security and Wylfa Newydd. On cyber-security he explained, “The whole process has checks and balances. All the plant systems are isolated from the outside world by air gaps.” On the importance of new nuclear Hawthorne said, “If you value climate change, reliability and certainty then I don’t think you can overlook the nuclear contribution.”

2016 | AUTUMN — 11

Heysham 2 ends record breaking run for planned maintenance

H

eysham 2 nuclear power station’s record-breaking reactor has been taken out of service for a planned maintenance programme.

One of the two units at the Lancashire station was turned off for planned maintenance on 16 September, after 940 days of continuous operation. This record run beats a 22-year record held by the Pickering nuclear power station in Canada.

During the run the reactor produced over 14TWh of electricity, enough to power 3.4 million homes for a year, while avoiding around 7.5m tonnes of CO2 emissions.

John Munro, station director at Heysham 2 said: “This excellent performance only happens with lots of planning, investment and total commitment from a very professional team of people here at Heysham 2.

“The investment in the plant during the planned maintenance shutdown will

support the plant’s lifetime extension – supported by 1,000 skilled people.”

Scotland's Torness power station, in East Lothian, is due to break Heysham 2’s record in February 2017 reaching 996 continuous days of operation when it shuts down for planned maintenance in April 2017.

Since EDF Energy took over its UK nuclear power stations in 2009, their output has increased by 50%, safety performance has increased by 51% and their lifespans have increased by 25%.

Earlier this year EDF Energy announced new extended scheduled closure dates for four of its nuclear power stations, with Heysham 2 now scheduled to operate until 2030, an extension of seven years.

EDF Energy CEO Vincent de Rivaz said “EDF Energy’s expertise and investment has significantly improved

the productivity of its nuclear power stations in Britain, providing more reliable, low carbon electricity for customers and industry. That strong performance underpins our credibility as a nuclear operator and developer.

The extensive programme of planned work at Heysham 2 will see camera inspections inside the reactor, as well as the installation of new equipment.

The biggest projects include replacing two large gas circulators which help cool the reactor.

The maintenance periods, known as ‘statutory outages’, take place every three years and are planned in advance with the National Grid to ensure that there is no impact on the national electricity supply.

Heysham 2’s other reactor is due to continue operating normally throughout the period.

“Great safety performance goes hand-in-hand with great commercial performance and I am particularly proud that Heysham 2’s record is a great example of the benefits of a strong safety culture.”

Vincent de Rivaz CEO, EDF Energy

12 — AUTUMN | 2016

SPEAKERS CONFIRMED

The NIA’s annual conference Nuclear 2016 will take place on 1 December at Park Plaza, Victoria and is shaping up to be one of the best yet.

Hosted by technology and science presenter, Angela Lamont, more than 200 representatives from industry are set to attend, to learn about the current issues affecting the nuclear sector and use this opportunity to meet and network with peers from across the industry.

Following the Government's approval for Hinkley Point C, Vincent de Rivaz will take to the stage to update industry on the next steps and what 2017 holds for EDF Energy.

Duncan Hawthorne, CEO of Horizon Nuclear Power, will address delegates for the first time following his appointment earlier this year.

NuGen’s Tom Samson will give an overview of the Moorside project, the achievements made in 2016 and what the priorities for 2017 and beyond will be.

With our decommissioning expertise in demand from across the world, a panel session will look at what those opportunities are and how UK firms are successfully winning business in overseas markets.

With more sessions and speakers being confirmed keep checking back at www.nuclear2016.co.uk for the latest news.

Exhibition and sponsorship opportunities are also available and are selling out quickly. Sponsors receive strong brand placement throughout the conference and with exhibition space included in packages, it gives you the chance to showcase your achievements, products and services.

There are a variety of opportunities available and all details can be found at www.nuclear2016.co.uk.

GOLD SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSORS

EXHIBITORS INCLUDE

2016 | AUTUMN — 13

IN VIEW

Horizon investigate geological conditions Horizon Nuclear Power has started its detailed offshore ground investigation works to gain a better understanding of the geological conditions offshore from the proposed Wylfa Newydd site.

Two barges, which are floating drilling platforms, will be positioned in the near shore area of the sea at Porth-y-Pistyll, adjacent to the existing Magnox station.

This is where Horizon is proposing to build its cooling water intake structure, a Marine Off loading Facility and breakwater.

This work is another key technical step in Wylfa Newydd’s project development and will allow Horizon to reduce the volume of road haulage by bringing in many of the bulk materials and large components needed during construction via sea.

The team will drill 33 boreholes in this area and will move the barges between the borehole locations as and when necessary.

14 — AUTUMN | 2016

2016 | AUTUMN — 15

Off Shore Platforms Porth y Pistyll © Horizon Nuclear Power — www.horizonnuclearpower.com

Projects on the scale of nuclear new build require high levels of confidence.

Confidence over issues of revenues, investment and shareholder value, and of course public perception, is essential.

As we have seen in recent weeks, political confidence, with consequences and influences from around the globe, is hard to predict and entwined in the politics of the day. These are, after all, decisions that last far beyond individual lifetimes, and have far-reaching benefits and impacts. Without confidence on all these levels, a new power station could not be built.

Of course, put alongside international politics and high finance, regulatory confidence may not grab readers’ attention in the mainstream media, but without it, nuclear new build projects would not get past the proverbial drawing board.

Establishing this confidence early is key to support smooth development of these vast and nationally critical projects. Application and subsequent grant of consents and permits are not only essential enablers for a new build project, but are often closely linked to investment decisions on which the entire project hinges.

16 — AUTUMN | 2016

A timely confidence boost for new build Building early regulatory confidence is a critical enabler in nuclear new build projects, says Stuart Woodings, Technical Director, at Amec Foster Wheeler

This isn’t just about confidence in the technology, but in the acceptability of deploying at a particular site and the competence and capacity of the organisation to manage and mitigate the regulatory risks through the early stages of the project and throughout its lifecycle.

Through our work, providing environmental support to the industry since the start of the nuclear renaissance, we at Amec Foster Wheeler have found ourselves acting as an important cog in establishing this regulatory confidence for each of the UK’s current crop of new build projects.

We have developed unique experience in supporting the three current new nuclear power station developers in gaining environmental permits and consents for their proposed developments.

We’ve also built a clear understanding of the consenting requirements to recognise and anticipate regulatory and stakeholder expectations, helping to mitigate risks early in the project.

One key element of this is the early application and successful granting of the operational environmental permit applications, demonstrating that the facilities can be developed and operated by a particular organisation at particular location in compliance with the regulatory requirements in the UK. This isn’t done in isolation: we work closely with the developer, the vendor, designers, and offer an integrated environmental appraisal team, supporting the Development Consent Order (DCO) application, and environmental permitting service.

While new build timescales can be measured in decades, the consenting programme can be very short and challenging,

often done in parallel with other interdependent workstreams.

This would be impossible without this close teamwork and a constructive and transparent regulatory relationship.

Although sometimes considered as second order to the DCO and the nuclear site licencing processes, early environmental permitting, which builds regulatory and public confidence, is an expected and integrated part of the process of consenting a new nuclear facility.

Early permitting also provides reassurance, within the DCO process, to both Planning Inspectorates, in determination of the planning application and the Secretary of State for the final approval.

This provides assurance that mitigation of the project’s environmental impacts will be controlled by a combination of planning and regulatory requirements and conditions.

In their roles, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales will also expect the applicant to be able to demonstrate the plan to become a credible nuclear developer and operator capable of compliance with environmental regulatory requirements throughout the lifecycle of the project.

All in all, while it’s clear confidence at many levels is required for a nuclear new build project, building the right levels of regulatory confidence, early in the process, is critical to its smooth progress through the all-important technological, siterelated, investment and ultimately political decisions.

With successful delivery of DCO and permits for Hinkley Point C, we now look forward – with confidence – to a successful future for the rest of the UK’s new fleet of nuclear power stations.

2016 | AUTUMN — 17

Planning for project perfection makes ‘perfect’ sense. Who isn’t striving for an ideal where the value of every project you undertake is maximised, efficiency is increased, and measures of success are defined up front?

In the nuclear sector, investors, particularly on new build projects, need proof their money is being invested wisely. With some industry wide projects’ overspend running into millions, and timescales delayed by several years, both operators and investors will be keen that project plans are as perfect as possible.

So what makes a project ‘perfect’?

The dictionary defines perfect as “having all the required elements, qualities or characteristics”. Thus, to ensure every fundamental element is defined and addressed, performing front-end requirements capture is a must. Requirements management helps you control project scope, and plan the success strategy you need to achieve your desired goal.

To identify project requirements, you need to ensure the right questions are being asked: what outcome am I aiming to achieve, and what do I need to achieve it?

By starting from the basics, rather than asking for a specific solution, you may find another way of delivering the result you want – a cleverer, or quicker, or less expensive, or safer way.

Then, you need to ask these questions of the right people. Involving stakeholders, technical and subject matter experts,

end users, and the supply chain, in the requirements capture process helps you to identify both risks and opportunities early, and get to the root causes of reliability or efficiency issues, adding value where it will most benefit the business and end user.

Whether capturing information from internal or external stakeholders, communication is a crucial component of the ‘perfect’ project. Sharing information and best practice helps uncover fit for purpose solutions that meet project needs.

At a recent CO2 project undertaken by Frazer-Nash, the team’s cross-disciplinary experience in other industry sectors enabled them to identify and recommend a new pump that delivered a host of benefits, and it is likely the solution will be shared with other customers experiencing the same challenges.

Work out what success looks like for your project, so you can recognise it.

Establishing informed and achievable milestones with an element of flexibility can add value and deliver improved efficiency in the long term. For example, a payment milestone might be to deliver an interim engineering report.

However, more value might be added to the project by getting your engineering team to substantiate the design, so you can order long lead time items which take months to procure.

While nuclear projects often try to build in contingency at the installation stage, adding in time at the initial design

stage, when changes can be made more effectively, avoids expensive delays later and reduces overall risk. Perfect projects need patience: don’t dive straight into activities, taking time to test the water will help your project go swimmingly.

Another key element of project perfection is ensuring that consistent ownership is taken of the project, from concept through to delivery. Having a technical lead (or team) who owns the programme, provides holistic oversight, allowing integration between the project team, engineers and end users. Then, if any problems arise, the lead has access to an informed multidisciplinary team to resolve them.

But perhaps the most surprising element of the perfect project is that it doesn’t always need to be completely flawless. Recognising that projects don’t always go to plan: expecting the unexpected, documenting the lessons learnt from your experience, and sharing the information with those in a similar position in your organisation enables continuous improvement, helping you to deal with the issues that arise on the next ‘perfect’ project.

CHRIS JONES Consultant Frazer-Nash Consultancy

DESIGNING THE ‘PERFECT’ NUCLEAR PROJECT 2016 | AUTUMN — 19

Innovation creates opportunity

I

nnovation has long been a buzzword for the manufacturing and engineering industries, and for the nuclear sector, innovation is vitally important. Evolving the way we work saves time and cost by creating new ways to come up with the same or better result in a more efficient way.

SC Innovation is using the expertise built up by our parent company, SC Group, to bring new ideas and developments into the civil nuclear sector.

SC Group was built on its expertise in the defence industry and developed simulation and modelling capability in impact analysis. A development which was used to replicate physical blast tests on the British Military’s armoured patrol vehicles.

These vehicles, used on the front line in Afghanistan were often the soldier’s first protection and had to withstand the full effects of blasts from Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). Finding ways to reduce the impact of the explosion or diverting the blast away from the vehicle through simulated modelling saved time and money, and more importantly lives.

This innovation was clearly transferable across industries and for the nuclear industry it seemed obvious to use it to test the safety systems in place for the transport of radioactive material.

20 — AUTUMN | 2016

One of the providers of such transport safety systems, Croft Associates, subsequently got together with us to apply the simulation to test their Safkegs.

These are Croft’s standard packages that have been used across the nuclear industry for the last 30 years.

The testing focused around a simulated crush test of the packaging, and SC Innovation conducted a range of dynamic simulation tests, using nonlinear material properties, to replicate the IAEA’s Safety Standard crush tests.

Our engineers created a 3D model of the Saf keg assembly in sufficient detail to allow comparison with physical test evidence and to simulate the packaging behaviour when subjected to the crush test. They then refined the model’s properties to correlate with the actual materials used in the physical tests so the simulated test aligned with the physical conditions.

The analysis demonstrated the simulated test results gave a close correlation that the physical results produced. So like the MOD project, the modelling system can reduce the number of physical tests, reducing the costs and time in testing and qualifying the safety containers.

The key to growth and staying ahead of the market is change and innovation.

The UK’s nuclear market is about to embark on an unprecedented era of growth. The Government’s decision on Hinkley Point C signals the start of a

new build programme which is crying out for innovation. New nuclear build projects are notoriously cumbersome and contractors will always be looking out for new but also proven ways to save money and cost.

The Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) is at the heart of the sector and if you are a non-nuclear business looking to join the sector and take advantage of the opportunities it is verging on essential to join. It may sound simple but it really is the place to find and meet the right people.

Post-Brexit, businesses will be looking for opportunities and new markets that are open to them.

The decision on Hinkley proves that UK nuclear is a growing industry full of opportunities. While our venture in the highly-regulated defence sector helped us understand and get to grips with the nuclear industry relatively easily, do not be afraid of trying to crack it.

Join the NIA, get Fit for Nuclear accredited, read and talk to people in the industry – the opportunities are there for innovative businesses.

JOE WILCOX Head of SC Innovation

SNAPSHOT

Nuclear remains essential in UK energy mix The 2015 Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) show nuclear and renewables are an essential part of the UK’s energy mix, accounting for almost half of the UK’s electricity generation in 2015.

Nuclear power’s contribution to the grid rose from 19% in 2014 to 21% last year, and all renewables now generate 24.7% of the UK’s electricity.

While gas remains the largest form of electricity generation with 30%, the use of coal in the UK continues to fall: now at 22%, from 30% in 2014.

Commenting on the DUKES statistics, Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “If the UK is serious about meeting our climate change obligations, improving energy security and tackling the growing effects of air pollution, nuclear is a necessity.

Read the full 2015 DUKES report on the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s website.

BEIS, 2016 Digest of UK Energy Statistics

Government visits Cumbria The Energy Minister and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy visited important nuclear sites in Cumbria to hear about latest progress.

Energy Minister, Baroness Neville-Rolfe praised Sellafield Ltd’s highly skilled staff on her first visit to the site. The Minister saw first-hand the progress being made in the decommissioning programme during a tour with David Gauke MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

The pair were shown three of the ‘big four’ historic waste facilities prioritised for clean-up by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, collectively known as the ‘legacy ponds and silos’.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe spent two days in Cumbria, learning how the county is emerging as a centre of nuclear excellence.

In a separate visit, Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, visited the Moorside site to hear about the progress NuGen is making and how the project will benefit communities across Cumbria.

NuGen CEO, Tom Samson said: “The visit to Moorside today is further evidence of the UK Government’s commitment to nuclear new build and NuGen is thrilled to be playing an important role to support the UK’s commitments to delivering affordable low carbon electricity by the mid-2020s.”

2016 | AUTUMN — 21

Building on a nuclear legacy BY. IVAN BALDWIN ⁄ CARR'S ENGINEERING

C

arr’s Engineering has designed and manufactured key pieces of equipment for landmark civil nuclear projects since the early days of the industry in the 1950s. One of the three main divisions within Carr’s Group plc, headquartered in Cumbria, Carr’s Engineering has a long-standing bond with the nuclear industry. This insight has paved the way to the acquisition of world leading remote handling businesses, large scale nuclear fabrication and precision engineering.

In July this year, the company’s fabricating division Bendalls - with an unrivalled expertise in building complex nuclear pressure equipment, saw off a highly competitive field of contenders to secure Sellafield Ltd’s 10 year Category Management Framework for the delivery of high integrity in-cell tanks and vessels, including heat exchangers and evaporators.

The framework will support both the demands of new infrastructure projects at Sellafield and also the maintenance and plant life extension of existing facilities. At time of tender this framework was valued up to £48 million, including design and earlier engagement in the project lifecycle with Sellafield and its partners to deliver innovations and significant savings.

Securing this contract allows Carr’s Engineering to continue to build on a nuclear legacy and deliver additional value for the taxpayer spend on decommissioning. Ten years of exclusive delivery provides a platform from which to make increased investments in skills, facilities and the latest state of the art equipment as well as enhancing our nuclear quality systems to support delivery of the standards and expectations of the global technologies planned for the UK nuclear programme.

We serve a growing list of clients across a diverse range of highly regulated industries, including: oil and gas; pharmaceutical; fusion; automotive; process; defence and renewables. This broad

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exposure not only helps to secure a sustainable baseload of delivery but also supports a competitive nuclear offering which delivers real innovation and differentiation to our client base in the industry.

This market diversity does not detract from a core focus on nuclear, it is has a significant importance to the growth and development of our business, to this end our business vision for nuclear is built on three pillars:

Like all members of the Nuclear Industry Association, Carr’s Engineering is positioning itself for nuclear new build in the UK, forming delivery partnerships, international relationships, making investments in a quality system and working closley with Nuclear AMRC, NSAN as well as Cumbria’s local apprentice training provider Gen 2.

Meantime the company is currently tasked with the delivery of products and solutions for major projects at Sellafield, for the Low Level Waste Repository, National Nuclear Laboratory, UKAEA Fusion Programme and Fukushima.

The Twittersphere BY. RUPERT LEWIS

As a child you were no doubt told not to talk to strangers. Well, if you have a Twitter account you will know following that rule is pretty much impossible. Over the years I’ve had interactions with people about restaurants, the incompetence of South West Trains and feedback on my “awful” blogs – I’ve forgotten your handle but not your words…

For a while my mantra looking after the @NIAUK account was to ignore rude or patently wrong comments but that has all changed thanks to Sellafield Ltd. You may have seen the recent BBC Panorama documentary on Sellafield. If you didn’t, it focused on a whistle blower's concerns about safety at the site and the potential problems which could occur if something was to go wrong.

The cynic in me came to the conclusion that a documentary telling me it would be dangerous if something was to go very wrong at a nuclear site really wasn’t saying anything new. But, Sellafield took a far more proactive stance through its Twitter feed, and tackled the points raised in the film head on.

Using very basic but clear statements and copying in #BBCPanorama, Sellafield were able to distinguish, or at the very least counter, the points Who to follow? raised in the documentary.

Want information on nuclear Government’s decision to and other relevant topics? proceed with Hinkley Point C, This issue we recommend pushed #Hinkley right up you follow: towards the top of the Twitter trends and comments good and bad tailed off from the @SellafieldLtd NIA’s various messages. In @edfehinkleyc the past, these replies would @JonathanWorldNu have largely been ignored but this time we challenged them.

Sky News tweeted Government was spending £18 billion on Hinkley. This factually wrong tweet had been regurgitated several times and with a simple ‘No, the developer pays for the whole of the construction and takes all of the risk’ it corrected the mistake, but led to more questions.

While it was no doubt time consuming, and not something I would recommend everyday for a one man, part time social media team, it is wrong to let false comments slide, especially from influential news outlets or commentators.

Twitter has made the world more connected and words travel fast which is a cocktail that can turn incorrect statement into fact worryingly quickly. And for an industry which is dependent on trust - stamping out and confronting wrong assertions on Twitter is now just another job for almost every communications team.

Twitter Count

@NIAUK

Followers: 3,875 Tweets: 5,626

@SellafieldLtd: Some of our plants are old, degraded and need to be taken down – that’s exactly what we’re doing at #sellafield, everyday #bbcpanorama

2016 | AUTUMN — 23

NEWS IN BRIEF

Wrapping and cutting asbestos Actavo has developed a new innovative Wrap & Cut approach to remove asbestos at Bradwell nuclear power station. Originally used for fireproofing, asbestos is notoriously difficult to detect because of zero visibility and lack of chemical footprint.

Working in the company of asbestos can lead to very serious health implications and this new technique to remove both pipes and asbestos together was adopted, to avoid the more dangerous disjointed processes, to save time and reduce asbestos traces in surrounding locations.

Bernard Nuttall, Site Asbestos Manager at Actavo, explains: “At Bradwell, we needed to utilise a range of innovative techniques to efficiently remove asbestos traces by fine cleaning all areas of contamination at minimal risk to onsite workers”.

“Primarily, employing the Fine Mist Spray & Shadow Vacuum technique throughout the cleaning process allowed us to control asbestos particles by wetting contaminated areas and cleaning with the use of Non Aggressive Hand Tools i.e. Wire Brushes, Scrapers, Abrasive cloths etc”.

Amec Foster Wheeler opens new laboratory

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“This meant during fine cleaning operations, the nozzle of an H-type vacuum cleaner held directly at the point of cleaning removed dangerous particles and any risk of spreading contamination to surrounding areas”.

“A range of techniques was also utilised to remove small sections of Asbestos Pipe Insulation that could not be removed during previous Large Scale Bulk Asbestos Removal Operations onsite. These Included: Wrap & Cut, Fully Tented Enclosures with a Wetting Technique via Low Pressure MultiPoint Needle Injection.

Having such an extensive range of techniques under our belt meant that methodologies could be constantly adapted, ensuring the environments remained as safe as possible during the removal periods.”

Using the new Wrap & Cut approach ensured all of the 550 cubic metres of asbestos waste was removed from site in fully enclosed lockable waste skips and transported to a licensed landfill site for final disposal.

Amec Foster Wheeler opened a new High Temperature Facility to research the advanced energy systems of the future.

The facility, built with a £2 million grant from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is equipped to test materials at up to 1,000oC or in novel and demanding conditions, such as pressurised gas and liquid metal.

It will provide open access research for organisations to test materials for applications such as Generation IV nuclear fission, nuclear fusion and advanced gas turbines.

The facility was officially opened by NNL’s Chief Scientist, Andrew Sherry and Greg Willetts, Vice President for Consultancy in Amec Foster Wheeler on 20 September. At the launch, Greg Willetts said: “The new laboratory and the HTF Alliance will help to re-establish the UK as a major contributor to advanced technology for new nuclear reactors and other new energy systems.

The High Temperature Facility will improve our understanding about how materials perform at high temperatures, which is vital in the development of new technologies.”

Based at Amec Foster Wheeler’s Technology and Innovation Centre in Warrington, it is part of the High Temperature Facility Alliance which comprises NNL, EDF Energy, UKAEA, URENCO, the University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute, the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, the Open University and Imperial College London.

Rolls-Royce engineers take first place in Spark! contest 2016 Two young engineers from Rolls-Royce won first place in the inaugural Spark! Contest 2016.

The Spark! Contest invites young people in the UK and France to produce innovative thinking on a topic related to energy. Sponsored by EDF, the 2016 inaugural year focused on nuclear energy.

The winning entry, submitted by Jonathan Hart and Brett Longstaffe of Rolls-Royce, proposed a hypothetical scenario in which increased nuclear cooperation between European states provided a solution to an energy crisis.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, EDF, CEO and Chairman, said: “The Spark!

Contest is a pioneering competition open to students and young professionals. It is designed to encourage young talent to engage in critical and solution-oriented thinking on energy-related subjects. As such, it constitutes a unique opportunity to identify and connect the leaders of tomorrow to the world of energy.”

Harry Holt, Rolls-Royce, President – Nuclear, said: “It is fantastic to see so many talented young people, fully committed to developing solutions for tomorrow’s challenges.”

A high-level jury, composed of 12 industry professionals from both the UK and France, selected three winning teams, among the 18 shortlisted teams.

Oxford Technologies strengthens ties at Fukushima

Oxford Technologies and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have agreed a corporate relationship for the development of remotely operated handling technology at the Fukushima Daiichi Pressure Containment Vessel.

This new agreement, which follows the successful completion of previous investigative studies by Oxford Technologies, is in addition to three contracts recently awarded to the Abingdon-based firm by MHI, to improve key design details and undertake development work and trials on investigative and other devices.

Early concept designs for the devices being developed for a side-access approach to the fuel debris retrieval projects were presented by MHI, at the International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, which was held in Charlotte, NC, in June.

Mark Sharpe, Business Manager for Japan at Oxford Technologies, commented: “We are delighted to be strengthening our collaborative ties with MHI and are working closely with them to develop solutions across all aspects of the investigative and the fuel debris retrieval projects.

“Oxford Technologies is anticipating the possibility of undertaking further work in the coming year, to support the proposed solutions, with the objective of commencing the detailed design and build phases.”

Fast reactor cleanout is landmark in hazard reduction

Highly radioactive waste, from Britain’s earliest experiment with fast breeder reactors has been made safe for future generations at Dounreay.

Underground tanks used to store the waste liquor from reprocessing of fuel irradiated in the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) have been emptied and their contents immobilised in cement, more than half a century after the first fuel was reprocessed.

“This is a great milestone in a history of Dounreay milestones,” said Nigel Lowe, NDA Head of Programme for Dounreay and Magnox.

Transferred in 3,200-litre batches, the DFR raffinate was immobilised on a production line surrounded by thick shielding.

The neutralised liquor was mixed with cement inside a 500-litre drum, stirred using a sacrificial paddle and allowed to set before being capped with a layer of grout and the drum lid replaced.

In total, some 232m3 of DFR raffinate was treated this way, creating 875 drums each weighing 1.1 tonnes. These will now be stored at the site in accordance with Scotland’s policy on the long-term management of radioactive waste.

“It’s a milestone for hazard reduction,” said Bruce Covert, who was appointed by Cavendish Dounreay Partnership as Director of Waste at DSRL. “In its liquid form, there’s a risk the waste can leak and cause serious damage. Now it’s been immobilised in cement, the waste is stable and safe to store for future generations.

“The DFR raffinate represented one of the major radiological hazards left over from the R&D programme at Dounreay. The plant team in particular, and the site as a whole, can take great pride in what they’ve achieved to make it safe.”

The 60MW Dounreay Fast Reactor operated between 1959 and 1977 and was the world’s first fast breeder reactor to supply a national grid. Fuel from the reactor was reprocessed at the site between 1960 and 1979.

JFN signs international co-operation agreement James Fisher Nuclear has signed an agreement with the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) to host a team for training and familiarisation at its head office, as a first step to building future co-operation.

“CNNC has many of the same challenges in decommissioning its legacy facilities as exist in the UK nuclear sector, and recognises the expertise built up by British companies in safely decommissioning high hazard plants, said Paul Read, Managing Director of James Fisher Nuclear.

“Our skills in remote handling, manipulation and ROVs have many potential applications in China, and this is the first step to gather a shared understanding of their own challenges in order to assist their decommissioning effort.”

It is expected the sharing of experience and capability, will be a two way flow with potential benefits being delivered to both the Chinese and UK decommissioning sectors.

2016 | AUTUMN — 25

NEW NIA MEMBERS

USE THE NIA MEMBER LOGO We actively encourage members to use the Member of NIA logo to proudly display your membership with us.

Carr’s Engineering carrsengineering.com

To obtain a copy of the logo for NIA members please contact dan.powney@niauk.org.

Carr's Engineering has manufactured key pieces of equipment for landmark civil nuclear projects since the industry's inception in the 1950s.

Our design capabilities, manufacturing quality and safety record are widely recognised as being amongst the best in the industry. We are one of a select number of UK suppliers who are certified to manufacture to the highest standard of Nuclear Category One equipment.

NOT A MEMBER OF THE NIA? To find out about the work of the NIA and benefits of membership please visit our website at www.niauk.org/membership-information for further details.

Here you will find more information on our extensive 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

CANBERRA UK canberra.com/uk CANBERRA UK Ltd is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of instrumentation for a diverse range of applications in the nuclear industry. It aims to work closely with its customers to ensure it provides innovative, high quality products, measurement systems and services.

It is based on the nuclear licensed site at Harwell and also has remote Services Centre located near Sellafield and Dounreay. Since July 1st 2016, CANBERRA is now part of Mirion Technologies.

26 — AUTUMN | 2016

CDR Pumps (UK) Ltd cdrpumps.co.uk CDR Pumps has established a solid reputation as a specialist manufacturer of pumping equipment for applications within chemical processing, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and nuclear sectors.

It offers a full range of magnetically driven and mechanical seal centrifugal pumps, diaphragm pumps and side channel pumps, with its objective to offer the safest and most environmentally-friendly solutions for the processing of hazardous liquids and chemicals.

CDR Pumps offers a comprehensive service of design, consultancy, technical support, maintenance and training.

Energy at Long Crendon Energy at Long Crendon is a consultancy established

by Norman Harrison offering services across the nuclear and power sectors. He draws upon 35 years’ experience in the sector with extensive experience of managing a broad spectrum of stakeholders including Government and regulatory bodies in both the UK and internationally.

Areas of specialism include corporate governance, business strategy, supply chain and stakeholder management, and business improvement.

Global Project Partnerships Ltd (GPP) gpp.business

Nuclear Industry Associates Support Services (NIASS) niass.co.uk

GPP is a search, selection and talent mapping organisation working within the global energy and infrastructure sectors.

It specialises within nuclear, working with client, EPC, consultancy and manufacturing companies. It has established an enviable reputation for building world leading teams and completing some of the industry’s most challenging recruitment assignments.

NIASS is an independent business development consultancy specifically aimed at assisting companies, both large and small, who are already operating or aspiring to operate in the UKcivil nuclear sector.

It offers a realistic alternative to carrying in-house, sales, tendering and marketing teams.

NIASS offers the ability to tailor your business development effort to suit your workload and order book, without the hassles of hiring and firing, allowing you to concentrate on delivering your core business.

WELCOME

Saint-Gobain — ISOVER isover.co.uk

Hogan Lovells International LLP hoganlovells.com Change is happening faster than ever, and to stay ahead, you need to anticipate what’s next. Legal challenges come from all directions. Hogan Lovells understand and work together with you to solve the toughest legal issues in major industries and commercial centres around the world.

Whether you’re expanding into new markets, considering capital from new sources, or dealing with increasingly complex regulation or disputes, we can help. Whether change brings opportunity, risk, or disruption, be ready by working with Hogan Lovells.

Isover is part of Saint-Gobain group, world leaders in the design, production and distribution of materials for the industrial, construction, and consumer markets.

It develops and manufactures sustainable insulation solutions to protect both your built and natural environment.

Its products meet the highest, acoustic, thermal and fire safety performance levels. It provides best value solutions for the new build, renovation and technical building environments.

South West Nuclar Hub (University of Bristol) southwestnuclearhub.ac.uk

Microspring and Presswork Ltd microspring.co.uk MSP, a specialist manufacturer of springs, presswork, washers, wire-forms and assemblies in a vast range of exotic materials such as Stainless Steel, MP35N, Beryllium Copper, Inconel and Titanium.

Accredited to ISO9001, AS9100 and NADCAP, it provides engineered solutions to aerospace, defence, oil & gas, nuclear, marine and high-tech manufacturing sectors.

Opening in early 2016, the purpose of the South West Nuclear Hub is to facilitate leading-edge research in science and engineering, supporting the nuclear energy industry in the UK and around the world.

This ranges from safe decommissioning and legacy clean-up to construction, operation and development of present and future nuclear energy systems.

The Hub will draw together scientists, engineers and experts from across three sectors of higher education, industry and government to complement the UK’s research and teaching capability and support nuclear power’s contribution to a low-carbon, affordable and secure energy system for the UK. The Hub’s strategic location places it close to new build at Hinkley Point and Oldbury and within easy reach of the corporate headquarters of EDF Energy, Magnox and Horizon.

2016 | AUTUMN — 27

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28 — AUTUMN | 2016

OPINION

PowerPolitics “LEAVING THE EU IS A MASSIVE MOVE WITH FAR-REACHING AND PERMANENT IMPLICATIONS FOR ALL OF US”

S

ince my last column the political world has been turned upside down. Not only has the UK unexpectedly called time on over 40 year's of membership of the European Union, but we now have a new top team in Government. The sun is still rising each day, but everything else is different.

Following the referendum Cameron moved swiftly on, to be replaced almost immediately, following a truncated but nonetheless exciting and unpredictable leadership contest, by Theresa May. One of her very first acts has emphasised “Brexit means Brexit”.

Leaving the EU is a massive move with far-reaching and permanent implications for all of us, although its precise nature will remain unclear until Government thinking has developed further.

Much will depend, for example, on the balance struck between competing trade and immigration priorities – which will potentially affect whether we can be in or out of the single market – and this debate is already warming up nicely on Conservative Party websites.

But what does this mean for energy?

Again this will remain opaque until new Ministers are more firmly in the saddle.

The new Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) under David Davis – which has already been poaching some of Whitehall’s brightest and best – is working closely with the new Business Energy and Industrial Strategy department (BEIS) on the likely impacts.

This includes macro questions, such as whether the UK can remain within the Euratom Treaty (probably not), and

a detailed review of all the relevant regulations to consider whether they need to be incorporated into UK law. All this will take some time to work out and it is our intention at NIA to keep in close touch with officials as thinking develops.

In the meantime the industry is understandably nervous about a whole range of issues, for example potential free movement restrictions, access to materials from the single market (both of which could impact new build and decommissioning projects); and treatment of interconnectors, to name just three.

We are clearly also interested in whether new projects could be freed from state aid restrictions – potentially a good thing. Also with the UK traditionally a net beneficiary of EU research programmes, continued access to EU funding is another important matter.

Although these are key questions for industry, it is fair to say from the broader energy policy perspective there are unlikely to be major changes. As Tom Greatrex has said many times in recent media interviews, the significant challenges the UK faces in replacing electricity generating plant to meet the UK’s energy needs in the late 2020s have not gone away and we need new low carbon plant – both nuclear and renewables – urgently.

In this context the new Government has emphasised there will be no downgrading of its commitment to fighting climate change. The targets in the 2008 Climate Change Act remain, and in fact one of the new administration’s first acts was to endorse the Committee on

Climate Change’s carbon budget to 202832. This provides a clear signal about the UK’s commitment to its climate change objectives and its ambition to continue reducing emissions into the 2030s.

Since then we have had Government’s decision to proceed with Hinkley Point C, which they rightly see, as Greg Clark MP said “will inaugurate a new era of UK nuclear power – building on Britain’s strong nuclear legacy.” A strong statement which we agree with.

Interestingly Clark’s new Department – which essentially combines DECC and BIS – also now includes the words ‘Industrial Strategy’. This could be very important if it implies the Government intends to pursue a longterm approach to energy and nuclear industry development.

Last month’s Olympics demonstrated graphically what a small nation can achieve by taking a strategic approach.

Is it farfetched to envisage Government and industry working together to make a similar success of the UK’s nuclear projects, with all the benefits that could bring in terms of economic growth, skills and training, supply chain development, R&D, and export opportunities?

PETER HASLAM Head of Policy, NIA peter.haslam@niauk.org

2016 | AUTUMN — 29

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