Industry Link – Spring 2020

MAGAZINE OF THE UK NUCLEAR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION SPRING / 2020

NIAUK.ORG

Waste facility for Winfrith 10

DEPLOYING ROBOTS AT CHERNOBYL 16 Delivering 12 skills for our industry NUCLEAR SECTOR’S 2 DIVERSITY COMMITMENT

James Fisher Nuclear

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

Providing engineering, manufacturing and specialist services, built on a culture of excellence, innovation and practical experience.

UK reactor segmentation

www.jfnl.co.uk

We have a very eventful 2020 ahead of us, as the UK gears up to host COP26, the 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the world will want an answer to the big question: how exactly are we going to deliver on climate change targets?

The NIA has been very vocal about the need for the government and energy sector to develop a plan. That plan must have nuclear at its heart, alongside renewables, if we’re going to quadruple our production of clean power—something the Committee on Climate Change has said is needed to power a boom in electric vehicles, heating and hit net zero.

This is why our Rediscover Nuclear campaign focuses on action now. It is a message we continue to reiterate when it comes to tackling climate change, boosting economic growth and keeping the lights on.

We were heartened to see nuclear support from both ends of the political spectrum during the general election campaign and from the new Government. Likewise, we appear to be entering a phase of bolder decision making in infrastructure. Whilst we all eagerly await the budget, National Infrastructure Strategy and Energy White Paper, perhaps we can take a deep breath and enjoy the great issue we have lined up for you.

In these pages, we look at the deployment of advanced robots in Chernobyl’s confined areas—now obtaining measurements that were previously impossible and allowing levels radioactivity to be better understood; in a similar vein, Amcam has developed a lightweight solution for identifying radiation in constrained nuclear environments; we also meet some of the people behind the Nuclear Innovation Programme; highlight a new sector inclusion pledge designed to ensure a diverse workforce; and discover how an innovative collaboration is addressing one of Sellafield’s highest profile decommissioning projects.

Hartley Butler George, Editor IN THIS ISSUE...

PORTABLE SOLUTION TO REAL-TIME PAGE 19 RADIATION DETECTION

IN VIEW

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ASSYSTEM AWARDED ITER CONTRACT

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IN CONVERSATION...

HOWARD WILSON

NIAUK.ORG Follow us: @NIAUK

Editor - Hartley Butler George Art Editor - Dan Powney Contributors - Ieuan Williams, Georgina Hines, Beth Wisely, Beccy Pleasant – NSSG, John Fuller – INS, Ruth Sellick – Orano, Tim Dowling – Tradebe Inutec, Jack McKinney – FrazerNash Consultancy, James Barker – South West Nuclear Hub, Kelly Duane – Cavendish Nuclear, Saranne Postans – UKAEA, with additional thanks to World Nuclear News

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Cover image: Atom molecule in female hands by natali_mis - stock.adobe.com This magazine is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, using vegetable based inks.

The Nuclear Sector’s Diversity Commitment A new sector inclusion pledge designed to ensure a new kind of workforce BY. BECCY PLEASANT / NUCLEAR SKILLS STRATEGY GROUP

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Nuclear Sector Deal Gender Commitment 1. I pledge my support to the Nuclear Sector Deal commitment to target 40% women employed in nuclear by 2030.

2. I recognise that a necessary implication for the Nuclear Sector Deal target is that the sector moves to gender balanced recruitment in the very near future.

I will work with the sector to create the conditions to ensure a sufficiently balanced recruitment pipeline to increase the opportunity to meet this target.

3. I will encourage collaboration across the nuclear sector, to ensure evidence-based action and sharing of best practice.

4. A s a change leader in the nuclear sector, I will advocate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I), to influence the culture required to attract the future workforce we want.

The 40% target, whilst ambitious, creates the environment to have the right conversation, and to prioritise effort in the right areas.

The nuclear sector is on a journey of rediscovery, recognising that it must become more innovative to achieve the productivity gains required to be a competitive contributor to the UK energy mix, which is central to the ambition of the Industrial Strategy.

The Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG) and Women in Nuclear UK (WiN) have both been striving to achieve a more diverse and inclusive workforce for a number of years.

We know that a workforce that is made up of different types people has a greater diversity of thought. However, this diversity of thought can only be truly harnessed through the creation of an inclusive environment.

It is widely accepted that people can be ‘their best selves’ when working in inclusive environments, when they are not constrained by the feeling that they must conform.

Simply put, people achieve more when they feel included. Inclusive environments are not only essential for attracting a diverse workforce, they are also key to retaining this mix and leveraging the variety of thought it brings.

Our sector requires large numbers of highly competent people and not only does it make no sense to restrict

our recruitment to exclusive pockets of our population, but harnessing thought diversity will also drive competitiveness for our sector.

Everyone should be able to benefit from the opportunities that the nuclear sector can provide—and often, harder to reach communities benefit more.

We are now in a position where no one disputes that we should be attracting and retaining people from all communities and backgrounds, and that our workforce should represent the diversity of the UK society.

Boosting diversity is therefore a key leadership activity that sits within the People Stream of the joint industry Government Nuclear Sector Deal.

As part of this, we at the NSSG and WiN have joined forces to roll out a programme of activity designed to meet this aim; based on sector consultation, this has so far taken the form of a new Nuclear Sector Gender Commitment and Nuclear Sector Gender Roadmap.

December’s Nuclear2019 annual conference saw the launch of this high-level Commitment Pledge, which sees nuclear employers, companies and individuals pledging their support to the Nuclear Sector Deal commitment target of a 40% female workforce by 2030.

We are now rolling out this commitment to both individual signatories and companies who are signing up to work with the sector to create the conditions to ensure a sufficiently balanced recruitment pipeline. It’s also a pledge that recognises collaboration across the nuclear sector to ensure evidence-based action and sharing of best practice.

We’ve already gathered hundreds of individual and company signatories including CE Os from the major nuclear employers, board members and a range of individuals across the sector. Everyone signing up has committed to tackling the challenge we face together, recognising that no one company can do this on their own, if things are to change.

As this article goes to press, Nadhim Zahawi, Minister for Business and Industry has also signed the Nuclear Sector Gender Commitment, acting as a Government champion and making a public declaration on the urgent need for greater inclusivity and diversity in our sector.

The NSSG is currently developing an interactive web page where the commitment pledge can be downloaded and will make this available in the coming weeks at www.nssguk.com.

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Nuclear Skills Strategy Group

New [nuclear] kids on the block With the last election came some significant changes in several key seats for the civil nuclear industry, as some longstanding MPs either standing down or being unseated.

While it’s a shame to no longer be working work with politicians we have built fantastic relationships with over the years, this is now a new opportunity for a clean start and build that rapport again in the context of a very different Parliament.

Therefore, we’ve taken this opportunity to do a quick roundup of the incoming cohort, who they are, where they’ve come from, and who’s boots they have to fill.

Nuclear Sector Gender Roadmap A journey to a diverse and inclusive sector

Practical actions While a public pledge is a fantastic catalyst to proactively change our workforce statistics and commit our companies to take on under-represented talent, we also need practical action. Together with WiN we have launched a Nuclear Sector Diversity Roadmap (www.nssguk.com/media/2017/nssgwin-sector-gender-roadmap_web.pdf ), focusing in the first instance on gender.

This roadmap summarises a full programme of interventions which we believe will enable our 40% ambition. It is sectorowned, and is being supported by a number of partner delivery organisations who are highly successful in this space.

The Roadmap sets out a plan of action across five themes: Attraction, Retention, Indicators, Industry Guidance and Enablers, and goes hand in hand with our Commitment Pledge.

Without intervention, there would be some progress—but our two organisations recognise that this progress would not be enough, nor fast enough.

We are therefore working together and with the entire sector to collaborate in making ambitious change.

It is important to acknowledge that WiN have been campaigning for the industry’s gender balance, improving the representation of women in leadership and engaging with the public on nuclear issues for more than five years, and have achieved good results from the implementation of organisational gender charters.

The NSSG now wants to augment this fantastic work, by demonstrating a clear, public commitment to an Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) agenda through a sector-wide strategic commitment.

Our journey will not stop here. Gender is just one element of our diversity and inclusion ambition. We will start here and not stop until our workforce genuinely reflects the diversity of the UK population, and that that we support our entire workforce in being the ‘best that they can be’.

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Ynys Môn New MP: Virginia Crosbie, Conservative Majority: 1,968 Previous MP: Albert Owen, Labour (stood down)

Born in Maldon, Essex, Virginia had an incredibly varied career before becoming the first Conservative MP for Ynys Môn since Keith Best stood down in 1987.

As a teenager, her first job was as a dolphin trainer at Woburn Safari Park before going to Queen Mary University of London to study microbiology, followed by a diploma in management studies at the University of Westminster.

After a successful career with leading roles at GlaxoWellcome, UBS and HSBC, she retrained as a maths teacher.

From the moment Crosbie was selected as the Conservative candidate on Anglesey for the election, she made it clear her number one priority was to get Wylfa Newydd back on track and secure the good quality jobs the area so badly needs.

Since winning, she has met the with the Prime Minister, Chancellor, Energy Secretary and Welsh Secretary regarding getting the project going again, and is a Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Nuclear Energy. She has also made good on her pledge to move her whole family—including her husband, three children and a cocker spaniel—to the Island, who are already enjoying the coastal walks.

Barrow & Furness New MP: Simon Fell, Conservative Majority: 5,789 Previous MP: John Woodcock, Labour then Independent (stood down) Simon is the first Conservative MP since former NIA Chairman John Hutton took the seat for the Labour Party in 1992, having unsuccessfully stood in 2015 and 2017.

He graduated from the University of Warwick with Honours in English Literature. Since 2009, he has been a member of the British Council’s TN2020 network of future leaders. His mother, father and grandfather all worked at BAE. Simon’s family have lived in and around Furness since the 1600s. He was born in Preston and has been married to his wife

MEDIA WATCH for 10 years, with whom has a young daughter and a newborn son. They also have a pet tortoise called Herman.

Simon was Chair of the Barrow and District Credit Union for two years and worked as a director at a not-for-profit company which prevented financial crimes and protected vulnerable people from falling victim to frauds and scams.

Since winning the seat Simon has also become a Vice Chair of the APPG on Nuclear Energy.

Workington New MP: Mark Jenkinson, Conservative Majority: 4,176 Previous MP: Sue Hayman, Labour (defeated)

In 2019 this father-of-four Workington man won the Workington man’s vote.

Despite a small blip in a by-election in 1976, the Labour Party had held this seat for over 100 years, however Jenkinson not only managed to defeat the incumbent MP, he also unseated a Shadow Cabinet Member.

Having previously stood in the seat at the 2015 election for UKIP before leaving the Party a year later, Mark has been heavily involved in local politics for some time, having been a parish and borough councillor before becoming Deputy Leader of Allerdale Borough Council.

Before becoming an MP, Mark was a self-employed contractor in the nuclear supply chain, and is keen to work on getting new nuclear projects going in the Cumbria, as well as being involved in the decommissioning pipeline. He too has become a Vice Chair of the APPG for Nuclear Energy.

Warrington North

New MP: Charlotte Nichols, Labour Majority: 1,509 Previous MP: Helen Jones, Labour (stood down) Ever wondered why the Simpsons’ house is so big? And how they can afford two cars, loads of pets, three children and for Lisa to learn the saxophone? Simple: Homer Simpson has a secure, unionised job in the nuclear industry. Not our words, but that of new Warrington North MP, Charlotte Nichols.

In the midst of most of the North West going blue, and despite only being selected as a candidate days before the election was called, Charlotte held the seat for Labour, whose first MP after its creation in 1983 was Doug Hoyle, the current Speaker’s father.

Before becoming an MP, Nichols worked for the GMB Union on their energy policy team, so is fully aware of the issues facing the 3,521 people employed by the civil nuclear industry in her constituency.

Already she has become a Vice Chair of the APPG on Nuclear Energy, has taken part in debates on the matter, and at the age of 28, hopefully has a long Parliamentary career ahead of her.

NEWS

In early January, WIRED UK reported that “The UK’s nuclear slowdown could derail our shift to clean energy.” NIA’s Chief Executive, Tom Greatrex, gave an interview which addressed limitations of offshore wind and the need for firm low carbon power to ensure we don’t become “reliant on unabated fossil fuel burning.”

In January, the BBC reported that work has begun on removing nuclear waste from Berkeley power station, 30 years after it was decommissioned. They covered a new process that is being explored by scientists at Bristol University, to ensure not all of the waste will be discarded.

They have developed a process that uses reactor core spent contents in a new power form: the tiny batteries could be sent into space as part of the space programme and used in pacemakers and hearing aids.

The process is being piloted in association with the UK Atomic Energy Authority in Abingdon.

In late January, the NIA was the subject of a Telegraph article, wherein our Chairman, Dr Tim Stone CBE, called for a new funding model. “The Government and the energy sector need credible plans, not just good intentions, if we are to show real international leadership,” he said. “We need to be working together – renewables and nuclear – to push for real progress towards COP26.

This sentiment was echoed when UtilityWeek ran the piece “NIA calls for ‘unambiguous commitment’ to nuclear power” in February.

In late February, Construction News penned a piece on the road ahead for nuclear and the UK’s new-build programme.

The NIA’s Chief Executive, Tom Greatrex, told the outlet, “You can’t [achieve net zero] without at least replacing the nuclear fleet, which within the next 10 years will almost all retire.”

Much national attention was given to the launch of COP26 in early February, with Boris Johnson saying the UK’s lead in industrialising has created a responsibility to lead the way in addressing climate change. In his words, “those who say it’s too expensive are wrong.”

The NIA responded to the Prime Minister’s comments at the launch, agreeing that we must set an example with a clear and credible plan of action for the UK. The North Wales Daily Post reported in February that Island MP Virginia Crosbie described Wylfa as “hands down the best nuclear new build site in the UK.” In early January she told the Times, “the loss of so many well-paid and highly skilled jobs on the island over the last decade adds urgency to job creation and the training opportunities that Wylfa Newydd will bring.”

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

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IAEA approves four projects for Uzbekistan IAEA’s board of governors approved four projects aimed at building up Uzbekistan’s technical capacity, human resources, developing nuclear infrastructure, and strengthening nuclear and radiation safety. The Central Asian country aims to have two nuclear power reactors in operation by 2030.

The approvals were received under the framework of the technical cooperation programme between Uzbekistan and the IAEA, providing for the strengthening of nuclear and radiation safety in the operation of nuclear facilities, development and implementation of modern nuclear technologies in medicine and other sectors of the economy, as well as the dissemination of nuclear knowledge.

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GEH and TerraPower team up GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and TerraPower are to collaborate on pursuing a public private partnership to design and construct the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) for the US Department of Energy.

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The VTR will be used to provide a source of fast neutrons to support the development of advanced reactor technologies. Such facilities are currently available in only a few locations worldwide and the US has not operated one in more than 20 years.

The reactor is to be a smaller version of the GE Hitachi PRISM power reactor.

VTR, like PRISM, would use metallic alloy fuels. GEH has been actively engaged in development of the VTR conceptual design, and TerraPower has supported the VTR programme by making enhancements to the reactor’s design.

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Radiation technique controls tsetse fly numbers in Senegal A nuclear technique has successfully reduced the tsetse fly population in Senegal without harming other insects, an eight-year study has found. The study was supported by the IAEA, together with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an insect birth control method that uses radiation to sterilise male flies.

Male flies sterilised using SIT are then reared in large numbers and released to mate with wild females. These do not produce any offspring, decreasing the insect population over time.

The bloodsucking tsetse transmits parasites that cause nagana, a wasting disease in cattle that leads to infertility, weight loss and reduced milk and meat production. In some parts of Africa, tsetse also transmits the debilitating and often fatal human sleeping sickness.

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Kola NPP pilots use of ultraviolet wastewater disinfection Pilot testing of a new ultraviolet wastewater disinfection system has started at the Kola nuclear power plant. The new system will enable disinfection of water without the use of chemicals containing chlorine.

Two disinfection units will provide for the purification of up to 400 cubic metres of water per hour (around the clock). Each ultraviolet module is equipped with 18 lamps, under the influence of ultraviolet radiation which purifies the water from microorganisms, viruses and bacteria.

Most of the water used by the plant does not need to be treated and is returned to Lake Imandra.

The quality of water near Kola NPP is evidenced by the fact that a trout farm has been successfully operating in the vicinity of the technological discharge channel since 1998, and that breeding of sturgeon was started in 2002.

BY. JOHN FULLER / INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR SERVICES

‘Indispensable’ International Nuclear Services plays a major role in Fukushima recovery

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ranted by the UK Government’s Department for International Trade, the licence allows INS to transport innovative equipment—used for identifying, sampling and retrieving nuclear fuel debris inside the site’s condemned No2 reactor—to Japan.

The equipment—supplied by British companies Createc, which is based in Cumbria, and Veolia Nuclear Solutions UK (VNS)— will be delivered to Mitsubishi Heavy Industry (MHI), one of the principal contractors managing the remediation work.

On 11 March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the world’s fourth largest on record, triggered a tsunami which hit the east coast of Japan, causing catastrophic damage to the power station. All six of the site’s reactors have since been shut down with no plans to restart them.

The UK’s involvement is now being led by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which has commissioned INS and its Japanese subsidiary, INS Japan KK (INSJ), to assist Createc and VNS, in delivering systems.

INSJ has a longstanding presence in Japan and is able to act as the relationship manager and link between the principal contractors and British firms, which provide experience

and technology to be developed and implemented in the remediation activities.

By helping UK businesses gain access to decommissioning opportunities in Japan, INS is supporting the focus of the UK Government’s Nuclear Sector Deal on exporting capabilities and expertise to other parts of the world.

Joe Wilkinson, INS’s Technical Contracts Manager, said: “This is a great opportunity for INS to support Japan in the recovery and remediation of the Fukushima site, as well as supporting UK companies in gaining access to the Japanese market.”

Matt Mellor, Createc’s Managing Director, added: “INS has played a unique and indispensable role in enabling collaboration between the UK and Japan. Without the legacy of mutual understanding and trust through years of bilateral co-operation, and embodied by INS, this project would not have been possible.”

INS is part of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority group. With its subsidiary Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd, it is the world’s leading transporter of nuclear materials. INS’s impeccable safety record stretches back 40 years and over five million miles travelled without incident. For more information visit www.innuserv.com.

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Image courtesy of Tokyo Electric Power Company — https://www7.tepco.co.jp/index-e.html

International Nuclear Services (INS) has been granted an export licence to support the continuing recovery operations at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.

Found in translation

The innovative collaboration addressing one of Sellafield’s highest profile decommissioning projects BY. RUTH SELLICK / ORANO

rom left to right: Leanne Wilding (SL), Andrew Dodd (SL), Emmanuel Pigueller (Orano/ ADAPT), Marie-Pierre Flamant (Orano/ ADAPT), Steve Miller (Orano/ F ADAPT), Tom Wright (Orano/ ADAPT), Atul Ranjan (Orano/ ADAPT), Claire Cere (Orano/ ADAPT), and James Newnham (SL). Other members of the core team include: Nicola Hamilton, Max Macqueen, Carl Steele, Tania Wild, Melanie Watson, Chris Clark, Amiee Brown and Vincent Ricou (all Orano/ ADAPT).

The Redundant Active Handling Facility at Sellafield represents one of the UK’s most complex decommissioning challenges and historical assets on the site. At 70 years old, repurposed numerous times, then safely maintained within a Care and Surveillance routine for around two decades—the facility has been described as a ‘museum’ of the UK’s nuclear legacy.

In June 2018, the development of a decommissioning strategy for this facility was tasked to Lot partners through the Decommissioning Delivery Partnership framework, and rising to the challenge was the ADAPT consortium, comprising of partners Orano, Atkins and Doosan.

From the outset, the project was designed to establish a close, collaborative approach between Sellafield and the supply chain, allowing an effective pooling of resources and blend of innovation and creativity within the project team. The team realised that traditional programme and project approaches were not enough to deal with the unique challenges of this facility—so they decided to innovate.

We spoke to Andrew Dodd, Senior Project Manager for Sellafield Limited, and Marie-Pierre Flamant, Senior Project Manager for Orano, both senior leads in the ADAPT Sellafield team, to find out how a new, collaborative project team and approach was formed, crossing national, organisational and linguistic boundaries to share knowledge between two of Europe’s largest and most innovative nuclear operators.

WHAT MAKES THE DECOMMISSIONING OF THE REDUNDANT ACTIVE HANDLING FACILITY SUCH A UNIQUE PROJECT? WHY AREN’T THE USUAL PROCESSES AND APPROACHES FIT-FOR-PURPOSE? When faced with the challenge of decommissioning a facility with such a varied history, the biggest question you have to address is, how do we account for the unknown? The Redundant Active Handling Facility has been sealed off for around 20 years

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now, which presents us with a significant level of uncertainty regarding its configuration and content.

On this project we are managing over 30 different activities, from investigations, to demolition, to remote retrievals; all of which are affected by gaps in existing approaches and require us to imagine future states without being able to commit to them with the usual level of certainty.

On a project like this, where you have to be prepared to adapt your approach as you start to fill in the blanks, it was obvious from the outset that traditional programme and project approaches would be too rigid for us to implement.

SO WHAT APPROACH HAVE YOU TAKEN? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE IT? As with any project, our aim is to safely remove the hazard as cheaply, efficiently and pragmatically as possible, while satisfying the concerns and requirements of our stakeholders.

However, the traditional processes that we normally use to achieve this simply aren’t applicable.

For example, we would normally have a set of proven data to work from. In this project, we don’t. As a result, the idea is to incorporate project data as we obtain it, then feed it into the next project phase to reduce any uncertainties regarding safety.

Effectively what we’ve done is create a hybrid of a project and programme approach. In practice, this means breaking down the traditional delivery model; rewriting processes and governance to match our requirements.

An example of how we’ve done this could be seen in our approach to safety case management. By maintaining an inherent flexibility in the nature of the end scope and creating preliminary design as part of technical studies, we’ve avoided the development of safety cases that we might not use. That in itself is a big saving to the project.

If we had to describe our approach in one word, we’d say it was ‘collaborative’; not collaborative in the abstract sense, but a real, hands-on, down-to-earth collaboration, where you need to bring people together, bring contrasting ideas to the table and address sticking points head-on.

The main way we’ve achieved this type of environment is by co-locating our teams. This means the project team formed primarily between Sellafield and Orano, actually shares the same office. We can instantly share ideas, receive feedback, argue our points: it gives us so many more touch points than a programme of regular update-meetings.

In essence, this environment simply allows us to communicate more effectively. We’re working as a multi-national, multiorganisational team so we’ve learnt not only to be sensitive to how we communicate in translation between French and English, we also have also learnt how to translate terminology and points of reference between organisations. We have a culture of verifying what we have understood to create a continuous feedback loop within the team.

The team is used to and now embraces a culture of challenge.

By breaking down these various languages barriers, we are able to navigate tensions caused by company politics and cultural differences to focus more clearly on the project.

RECOGNISING THE VALUE OF THIS COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO THE PROJECT Senior project stakeholder and Remediation Operations Manager at Sellafield Limited, Dick Beck has been quick to comment on how ‘the working relationship between Orano (ADAPT), the Project and Operations Team and all supporting function teams has been fluent and enterprising from day one.

The honesty and modesty of everyone is a key factor, no one displays arrogance and their willingness to listen and take on board advice as well as challenge has been very productive and encouraging. We have taken a huge step away from the legacy “us and them” mentality and have bonded as a unified team with the same goal.”

Speaking to two newer members of the team, Claire Céré (Orano/ADAPT) and James Newnham (Sellafield), this message was echoed.

Having completed Sellafield Ltd’s graduate training programme two years ago, James noted how working in a multi-national and multi-organisational team “really makes you conscious of the message you are trying to convey, how it may be received and how you can ensure you are as clear as possible. It is a very motivating environment to work in, where all team members come together so effectively to achieve a common decommissioning goal.”

Joining the team from another of Orano’s major contracts at Sellafield, ASSIP, where teams from France provide direct peer support to the site for effective waste management—Claire reinforced the benefits of this type of collaborative approach, saying that working in a co-located team means everyone is able to learn something and contribute to the challenge at hand. “Both Orano and Sellafield have significant real-life LFE, so this project allows us to combine that experience in an innovative way to respond as efficiently as possible to the challenges posed by this facility.”

Co-located for over 18 months, the team has already delivered a robust baseline scenario for the facility, along with an estimated Schedule & Cost. The conceptual stage of decommissioning design principles and logic has also now been completed. A programme safety case strategy has been validated to allow the deployment of the enabling works on site. The next step will be to implement this new strategy across the project scope to prove the efficiency of this collaboration, and the potential it holds to inform future phases of the project.

ADAPT is a Joint Venture collaboration between Orano, Doosan Babcock and Atkins.

All three companies have significant global experience of bringing individual company expertise to a JV to deliver solutions that deal with nuclear legacies. ADAPT collaborate with Sellafield Ltd to achieve value and mutual success.

Find out more information on the companies at: www.orano.group, www.oranoprojects.uk www.doosanbabcock.com www.atkinsglobal.com Sellafield Ltd operates the biggest nuclear site in Britain on behalf of its owners, the NDA. With a workforce of more than 11,000 people, the company is one of the largest employers in the north of England. Its role is to lead the 100year programme to safely decommission and clean up Sellafield while ensuring the local community is not negatively impacted.

Arguably the most important environmental project in Europe. It also manages radioactive waste and special nuclear materials on behalf of the UK, and by the end of 2020 will have completed its 70-year mission to reprocess spent nuclear fuel for the UK and overseas customers.

WESTINGHOUSE IS COMMITTED TO DELIVER THE AMBITIOUS PROPOSALS SET OUT IN THE NUCLEAR SECTOR DEAL TO DELIVER LOW CARBON, AFFORDABLE ENERGY TO THE U.K.

www.westinghousenuclear.com

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Investment in Offsite Treatment for Complex Wastes at Tradebe Inutec, Winfrith

(l to r) Head of Site Andy And

THE NEW FACILITY IS DUE TO BE COMPLETED IN SUMMER 2020 AND WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL OPTIONS FOR COST-EFFECTIVE, OFFSITE TREATMENT OF LOW LEVEL AND BORDERLINE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL WASTE.

CGI rendering of the new Tradebe Inutec facility at Winfrith

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derson, NIA Chief Executive Tom Greatrex and Tradebe Inutec’s Managing Director, Brian Mulholland

BY. TIM DOWLING / TRADEBE INUTEC

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ust 12 months after establishing its own Nuclear Licensed Site at Winfrith, Tradebe Inutec is investing again in its Winfrith site, with the ‘breaking ground’ ceremony for its new facility. This moment marked the next chapter for Tradebe Inutec in supporting the UK’s Decommissioning Mission.

The UK government invested heavily in the Winfrith site, initially in the steam-generating heavy water reactor which began operations in 1967. However, the majority of the site has been focused on decommissioning for many years.

Tradebe Inutec itself has operated on the Winfrith site for more than 30 years as a tenant of Magnox Limited, until February 2019 when it acquired the buildings and land from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. This investment marked an important milestone on the Winfrith site—Tradebe Inutec’s new 700m2 building will be the first new permanent facility to be constructed at Winfrith for 20 years.

The breaking ground ceremony was undertaken by the NIA’s Chief Executive Tom Greatrex, Tradebe Inutec’s Managing Director, Brian Mulholland, and Head of Site, Andy Anderson.

The new facility is due to be completed in summer 2020 and will provide additional options for cost-effective, offsite treatment of low level and borderline intermediate level waste.

This is just part of the ongoing investment by Tradebe Inutec in response to the increasing amounts of legacy waste as well as new, complex decommissioning waste being generated from the UK’s decommissioning programme.

Investing in the company’s workforce is also key to providing the sort of innovative treatment options Tradebe Inutec’s clients need. Tradebe Inutec’s graduate programme is well-established, with 8% of the workforce now engaged through this scheme and the company is seeing increased engagement with its local Women in Nuclear network.

This new investment is also important for the local community in providing new highly skilled and sustainable jobs, particularly as Magnox Limited end their operations and delicence their part of the site.

Tradebe Inutec continues to build on its partnerships with local stakeholders around Winfrith.

“It’s sustained investment like this that enables us to support the industry with complex waste projects such as treatment of Bradwell’s FED inventory and the partnership with Wood to retrieve and treat the Borderline Wet Waste at Magnox Dungeness,” says Tradebe Inutec’s Brian Mullholland. “Nuclear sites are moving towards waste-lead decommissioning and we hope this expansion of waste treatment capabilities gives them the confidence to move forward with their programmes.”

For more information on this and other Tradebe Inutec projects visit www.inutec.co.uk.

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Nuclear Innovation Programme:

Delivering skills for our industry BY. JACK MCKINNEY / FRAZER-NASH CONSULTANCY LIMITED

The UK’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is an ambitious and necessary challenge.

In the UK, nuclear technologies could play a significant role in any future low-carbon energy mix. Achieving a vibrant and innovative nuclear sector requires us, as an industry, to grow and to develop our people’s skills and capabilities.

As an industry we face a major challenge: the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG) has identified the need for a net increase of approximately 7,000 skilled people, per annum, into our sector. This is at a time when an ageing workforce is resulting in the loss of many subject experts.

The Nuclear Innovation Programme is a key contributor to meeting this skills requirement through the development and growth opportunities it provides to existing and new entrants to the industry.

The programme began in 2016, with investment from the UK Government in research and development across a range of different areas including: → Advanced Fuels → Reactor Design → Spent Fuel Recycling → Material and Manufacturing → Nuclear Facilities and Strategic Toolkit → Advanced Modular Reactors

Jack McKinney, engineer at FrazerNash, investigates how the Nuclear Innovation Programme is helping to address our industry’s skills shortage

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After four years of investment across a breadth of technical areas, we take a look at what the Nuclear Innovation Programme means to the individuals involved and how it has impacted their skills development.

Carolyn Howlett, Modelling Technical Lead for Thermal Hydraulics project, explains: “I’ve been enthralled by the opportunities the Nuclear Innovation Programme funding has provided. The funding

and recovery of critical nuclear infrastructure, as well the relevant regulatory framework and international standards.

I believe that further growth of such expertise across the industry is critical, not only in assuring the security of modern nuclear power stations, but also in developing world leading capabilities that can be exported.”

The cross-pollination of skills and ideas from complementary industries is a central theme of the programme. Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approaches are well established within the aerospace and defence industries but, despite the benefits they can bring, have so far seen little utilisation within the nuclear domain.

Consultants Steven Fletcher and James Cornish have been amongst the team responsible for applying this approach to nuclear safety cases and educating key industry stakeholders about the numerous merits of the approach.

Steven tells us: “Prior to joining the Nuclear Innovation Programme, while I am experienced in MBSE, I had limited knowledge of the nuclear industry. The programme has given me the opportunity to grow my knowledge and understanding of nuclear safety cases and how modern methods can be applied to their development.”

James started the project with a background in safety: “The research has enabled me to learn about MBSE methods and the SysML programming language, which I am now applying to both projects within and outside of the nuclear sector.”

The future success of the UK nuclear industry is directly linked to the successful development and growth of a skilled workforce. The Nuclear Innovation Programme is integral to this effort, and has demonstrably provided fantastic opportunities for those involved.

With the ongoing support from government, there is a bright future ahead for skills growth and development within the industry.

“THIS IS A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR CONSULTANTS TO HELP LEAD THE WAY IN UK FUSION ENERGY, DEVELOPING FURTHER SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN BE USED FOR EXPORT”

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Image: Atom molecule in female hands by natali_mis — https://stock.adobe.com

has enabled myself and the rest of the team to represent UK industry within the international thermal hydraulics research community. The programme has provided us with a lot of visibility of international research, giving us the opportunity to learn about the latest techniques, strategies, and tools being employed, and how we might exploit them to enhance Frazer-Nash’s capabilities within thermal hydraulics for export.”

Carolyn highlighted how her expertise in Generation IV reactor technologies has increased: “As a direct consequence of the Nuclear Innovation Programme, I’ve grown my understanding of the challenges and requirements one must be aware of when considering the thermal hydraulics of emerging technologies.”

The skills development opportunities facilitated by the Nuclear Innovation Programme are already leading to commercial success. Richard Underhill, Integration Technical Lead for Thermal Hydraulics, provides an example: “The programme has enabled me to develop my expertise in liquid metal modelling with Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Based on this new experience, we have been chosen by the UKAEA to conduct the concept study for the STEP Lead-Lithium flow loop.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our consultants to help lead the way in UK fusion energy, developing further skills and knowledge that can be used for export.”

It is also providing funding to academic institutions to support industrial research. Alex Staves, a PhD student at Lancaster University, has spent the last year researching cyber-incident response and recovery within the nuclear domain. Alex, being completely new to the nuclear industry, is an example of how new talent is being brought into the industry and developed by the programme.

“My research has helped me to develop an expert understanding of the issues surrounding cyber-incident response

IN VIEW

Using digital-twin technology to optimise missioncritical processes PA Consulting helped a nuclear operator to adopt digital twins to model critical operations which optimises usage of time, funds and people, whilst improving site safety and reducing CO2 emissions. The company brought together a team of strategists, data scientists and engineers who used CFD modelling, engineering modelling and machine learning/AI algorithms to build a digital twin of a targeted part of a site utility.

The client is now able to optimise workload management and implement predictive maintenance routines and data-driven asset maintenance investment decisions.

Digital twins have enabled the operator to identify excess capacity in the system and simultaneously work towards reducing emissions by 30%.

“PA was the only firm that could demonstrate how to create value and drive adoption for an end-to-end process,” says the CEO of the nuclear operator. “They were the only consultancy that could bring the value of a digital twin to life, helping us recognise the opportunities that it would have on site.”

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Deploying robots around the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone BY. JAMES BARKER / SOUTH WEST NUCLEAR HUB

The environmental legacy of the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident is still significant, with many areas surrounding the crippled reactor still too radioactive for humans to spend time to perform crucial monitoring work. To address this, a group of researchers from the University of Bristol, as part of the National Centre for Nuclear Robotics (NCNR), have recently deployed a range of autonomous systems to undertake vital radiation surveys.

In stark contrast to the combined restricted and evacuation zones that constitute the land to the north-west of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) is now something of a tourist mecca. Owing in no small part to the high-profile Chernobyl television series, the Exclusion Zone authorities are reporting that over 100,000 (predominantly overseas) visitors are passing through the region every year in the new—rather economically stimulating—wave of tourism known as “nuclear disaster tourism”.

Unlike the small and non-descript TEPCO Decommissioning Archive Centre, the impact of such a sizeable tourist presence has led many innovative Ukrainians to construct souvenir gift shops at the extensively guarded border with the outer Exclusion Zone.

Blazoned with radioactive trefoils, painted bright yellow and with aged manikins dressed in 1980’s CBRN suits complete with gas masks, the small enterprises that blare

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out music from the Fallout series of console games sell everything from maps of the CEZ, to Chernobyl branded mugs, and certified “Chernobyl Air”.

After being given sufficient time to peruse the vast potential range of gift opportunities, our team of six researchers—comprising of engineers, physicists and earth scientists—had our passports inspected, QR code enabled passes scanned, then vehicle and kit inspected before finally being permitted into the zone.

This near-constant stream of tourists that we observed during our hour at the checkpoint are taken by the various tour companies to numerous sites within the 1,000 square mile zone, including the hastily abandoned city of Pripyat (with its now infamous fairground and school), the various vehicle graveyards and the outside of the Chernobyl reactor building. However, the sites that we would be visiting were away from the typical tourist routes and included some of the most radiologically contaminated areas within the entire CEZ.

The use of robotic and autonomous systems is becoming increasingly used across the nuclear sector—specifically in decommissioning; reducing operator dose while improving task efficiency and operational safety. Although we would be deploying our various robotic systems in a highly contaminated area, it was important that all of the platforms tested could also be deployed during routine site operations.

To complement the low-altitude autonomous multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (known as a UAV) radiological mapping system that we have been deploying out in Fukushima—around southwest England and also on parts of the Sellafield site—one of the platforms that we were testing in Ukraine was a fixed-wing variant of the system.

Transporting a modified version of the miniaturised detector payload (comprising gammaray spectrometers, range-finding lidar, GPS and wireless radio transmission module) the radiation mapping system could be carried by the lightweight foam airframe at greater velocities and altitudes than the smaller multi-rotor equivalent.

During our visit, we performed multi-level correlated surveys using both aerial platforms over; i.

The heavily contaminated Red Forest (to the west of the plant) where a uniform spread of contamination occurred,

ii. A

former vehicle yard in Kopachi (south of the Chernobyl plant) where more localised contamination exists resulting from vehicles being pressure washed on the site.

Using the combined results from the two survey heights, we were able to enhance our source localisation algorithms to better constrain the location of highly active emitters on the ground. In fact, using our system we were able to identify a radioactive ‘hot-spot’ on the border of the Kopachi site previously unknown to the exclusion zone authorities. We were also able to show the CEZ authorities the systems being able to rapidly evaluate an area fully autonomously, without any human inf luence—reporting back spectroscopic results on the nature of the contamination in near real-time, as would be required in an emergency response scenario.

The second system we took to Chernobyl was a miniaturised 3D radiation mapping system, capable of producing full 360° point cloud visualisations of contamination within an enclosed space. This shoebox sized platform, termed the Cell Characterisation Remote Isotopic Analysis System, or CC-RIAS, has been designed for more conventional use within confined or difficult to enter places, such as hot-cells or reprocessing areas.

However, the discrete yet highly active material distributed around the Kopachi site and also the

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radionuclide concentrating trees within the Red Forest both provided useful targets for mapping.

At the two sites, we were able to pinpoint the highly active material within the surrounding environment—highlighting the ability of the CC-RIAS system.

Another platform that we tested in Ukraine was our wheeled ground robot, the ‘Turtle-Rover’, equipped with a combined radiation (gamma-ray and neutron) and 3D scanning lidar mapping system. Like the CC-RIAS system, the ground robot was primarily intended for enclosed or high-dose environments where it would be undesirable, impractical or dangerous to send humans to undertake the task.

However, the abandoned and radiologically contaminated buildings scattered across the CEZ represented convenient environments in which to test and refine the platform for potential nuclear site deployments. The individually controllable wheels of the rover meant that it could enter confined areas and obtain measurements not otherwise possible. As well as the UAV platforms locating previously unidentified contamination in the external environment, the ground rover similarly identified radioactive ‘hot spots’ within buildings.

Although no decontamination is planned across the CEZ, it is critical that the location and magnitude of radioactive contamination is fully understood, given the high numbers of tourists now entering the zone. While our focus has been on utilising this technology in the field, our focus now is on deploying the suite of systems on nuclear sites as part of their decommissioning and emergency response procedures.

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AmCam, a compact, portable solution to real-time radiation detection BY. KELLY DUANE / CAVENDISH NUCLEAR

I

dentifying radiation in complex: constrained nuclear environments usually means using cumbersome and bulky equipment but Amcam has developed a solution that will make this much easier.

Cavendish Nuclear’s AmCam is a new and unique innovative hand-held, realtime, radiation detection technology that enables customers to identify areas of fissile material contamination. Compact and lightweight to use, AmCam combines collimated gamma ray spectrometry detector with a video camera, optimised for real time radiation detection within the exact field of view of the video camera.

Being simple and intuitive to use, it easily enables customers to decommission safer, faster, at lower cost by enabling them to quickly identify areas of contamination and target them for clean-up.

AmCam is already making a name for itself within the industry and is being used in active trials at customer sites, helping them identify areas of contamination for

clean-up or to provide assurance that there are no areas of contamination.

AmCam is ideally suited to Post Operational Clean-Out (POCO) in alpha plant decommissioning, for both UK and international customers. Applications include internal and external glovebox surveys, pipework monitoring and in-cell characterisation.

Developed by Cavendish Nuclear using our internal product development process, AmCam forms part of our world-class plant characterisation service portfolio.

Tony Burnett, Head of Innovation and Technology for Cavendish Nuclear, said, “Delivering nuclear services safer, faster, at lower cost for our customers is core to our business. AmCam is a fantastic example of how we are leveraging innovation and technology, with the customer in mind, to deliver a product that is simpler, safer and quicker to use than existing products, and which delivers results in real-time.”

Key features include: → Compact, lightweight, handheld device → Deployable inside gloveboxes using

the custom designed AmCam glove port bag → Real-time updated video and count rate data → Measures in real time the low energy 60keV gamma radiation emitted from 241Am → Video and count rate data are recorded in MP4 format → A count rate bar and numerical display showing counts per second → Audible indication of the current count rate using “Geiger clicks”

Key benefits include: → Quick identification of the location of

material build up within gloveboxes

→ Use of images to pinpoint the origins

of elevated radioactive activities

→ Estimates can be made of the dose

rates and activity levels of hotspots

→ Aiding efficient clean-up for Post

Operations Clean Out (POCO)

→ Enabling characterisation of

the waste category segregation processes used to plan and target future POCO operations.

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Following the success of DECOM2018, the Nuclear Industry Association will hold DECOM2020 at the Telford International Centre on Wednesday 17 June.

It has been an eventful year for government and industry, and DECOM2020 will look at how we can move forward to deliver safe, sustainable and publicly acceptable solutions to the challenge of decommissioning the UK’s legacy sites.

Topics of discussion will include: developments of the sites in the UK and opportunities for the supply chain; views on the global decommissioning market; and where UK companies have potential to win work and the best routes to secure these contracts.

Speakers will look at some key decommissioning projects here in the UK, international repositories and lessons learned —touching on cross industry engagement, commissioning and decommissioning. Following the full day event is a reception and informal dinner for attendees.

The next day the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will hold their supplier day at the same venue where 1,600 industry representatives and 300+ exhibition stands will continue to hear about the developments in the UK. The NDA will also announce the winners of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Supply Chain awards.

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Confirmed speakers for the day include: David Peattie, CEO, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Gwen Parry-Jones, CEO, Magnox Limited Martin Chown, Chief Executive, Sellafield Limited Lesley Sewell, Business Services Director, Dounreay Paul Pointon, Managing Director, LLWR Rodney Berkely, Director for Energy and Infrastructure, Department for International & Trade

Registration is now open

www.decom2020.co.uk A range of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are on offer but selling out fast. Please note you MUST book your space with NDA separately for its supply chain event.

Book your package today!

M

eet Howard Wilson, Programme Director for Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production(STEP). Howard, who is also Professor of Plasma Physics at University of York and leads the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Doctoral Training in the Science and Technology of Fusion Energy, has been seconded to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) since 2017.

At the end of March 2020, he will hand over his Director responsibilities and so it is a good time to catch up with him to find out more about STEP, starting with whether he thinks fusion can address our future energy challenges.

IN CONVERSATION ...

HOWARD WILSON

YOU’LL HAVE HEARD MANY TIMES THE PHRASE ‘FUSION IS 30 YEARS AWAY…’ WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THE STEP PROGRAMME CAN MAKE FUSION ENERGY A REALITY? When I started my career at Culham, 30 years ago coincidentally, I hoped to see fusion power to the grid within my career. Clearly, that hasn’t yet happened. However, the brilliant work that’s been done by scientists and engineers around the world during that time means that we are now better placed than ever for the push to deliver net fusion power.

One of our strengths is the broad range of facilities we have right here at UKAEA’s Culham site in Oxfordshire—from the world’s most advanced fusion experiment, JET (which we operate for the European Community), to the newly upgraded innovative MAST-U fusion experiment (funded by the EPSRC).

These are supported by a range of other facilities, including the Materials Research Facility (MRF) which tests the properties of irradiated materials, the Remote Access in Challenging Environments (RACE) facility which is developing advanced robotics and remote maintenance systems and a new tritium science facility (H3AT), which will open in 2021. The capability of these facilities, together with the outstanding calibre of UK fusion scientists and engineers, both at UKAEA and in industry and academia, means we can now be confident about entering the fusion delivery era.

This is the ambition of the STEP Programme, counting down the years to deliver the world’s first fusion reactor by 2040 and demonstrate net electricity production. It is an ambitious programme, but one the UK is well-placed to deliver.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE STEP PROGRAMME… A major benefit of fusion energy is that it produces no greenhouse gases and, with the world likely to need ever more energy, it’s unlikely that conventional renewable energy will be able to meet this need.

Fusion is an attractive option, its high power density complements conventional renewable energy sources to meet future demand and counter the threat of climate change. There is a need to accelerate fusion research, this is why we need STEP. It’s a programme aiming to design and build the world’s first compact fusion reactor, capable of demonstrating the commercial viability of fusion power by delivering net electricity. It is a prototype and will point the way to a fleet of commercial reactors to be deployed around the world.

In October 2019, the Prime Minister announced £222 million funding for the first stage of the work, to be complete by March 2024. The key deliverables for this stage are to develop a concept design for the prototype reactor, deliver technical solutions, define the regulatory framework and identify a suitable site.

At the end of stage one, the programme will be reviewed and, if successful, a second tranche of funding, which is anticipated to involve commercial investment, would enable detailed engineering design and then construction.

On our current timelines we envisage construction beginning in 2032, with operations from 2040.

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TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT UKAEA’S WORK VISIT OUR WEBSITE HTTPS://CCFE.UKAEA.UK TO FIND OUT ABOUT UPCOMING SUPPLY CHAIN OPPORTUNITIES ON THE STEP PROGRAMME VISIT WWW.GOV.UK/GOVERNMENT/PUBLICATIONS/ STEP-PROCURMENT-OPPORTUNITIES TO SEE CURRENT VACANCIES AT UKAEA, FOLLOW US ON LINKEDIN WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/COMPANY/UKAEAOFFICIAL

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WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES?

The main technical challenges are to do with plasma physics and materials and UKAEA is working with strong UK university groups to address these issues. The new MAST-U spherical tokamak is a key testing facility for many of the plasma physics issues; our MRF seeks to understand and optimise materials for the extreme fusion conditions, and our RACE team works to optimise the robotics and sensing equipment for remote maintenance and operations.

Another challenge is the accelerated timeline of the STEP programme, which means that the engineering design will be developed before data from the deuterium-tritium mix plasma fuel is available from ITER, the international fusion device being constructed in the South of France. This creates the need for an innovative approach to licensing and construction and the use of digital engineering to underpin design methodology.

A third challenge is to do with tritium as it will need to be bred and managed within the reactor. The H3AT tritium science facility will undertake research and development in this area, both for STEP and for ITER. It’s absolutely crucial that we build a coalition of support and ensure our stakeholders are confident in our ability to deliver. This, together with the know-how and intellectual property we generate, will be required to attract the commercial investment needed to fund the engineering design and construction phases.

The ambition required to tackle these challenges, combined with the critical goal to address climate change, mean that STEP is one of the most exciting programmes in the world. It is recruiting the very best scientists and engineers right now— come and join us!

WHAT ABOUT THE SUPPLY CHAIN, WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE?

There are growing and thriving fusion companies in the private sector, all of whom have potential to make significant contributions to the delivery of successful fusion energy in their areas of specialism. We look forward to partnering with them on this journey.

There will be many opportunities for the supply chain and our recent event, held in Coventry in February, outlined our plans for STEP, as well as the wider work of UKAEA. STEP is about the UKAEA working in partnership with industry and academia in a national programme. In this way, we ensure the supply chain and skills grow with the programme and establish the necessary national capability to build and operate the STEP prototype reactor.

All our supply chain opportunities are posted on the UKAEA website and we’re looking forward to further expanding our relationships as the programme progresses.

HOW WILL A SITE BE CHOSEN? The site will be selected on the basis of communities volunteering to host the facility and we’re already working with BEIS to develop an open and transparent process to work towards that.

We haven’t yet begun to engage with communities on the potential benefits of hosting the world’s first energy-producing fusion reactor and this is in our workplan for 2020. As with any major infrastructure project, we know there will be significant social and economic benefits to the host community and we are confident that many will come forward.

Quite apart from the immediate benefits to the host, producing the first net fusion energy in the UK will be a landmark event that will be internationally recognised for decades, if not centuries to come.

The Twittersphere BY. GEORGINA HINES

When Twitter announced it was banning political adverts there was widespread applause. The timing couldn’t have been better, following Mark Zuckerberg’s court appearance for Facebook’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the company being charged $5bn as a result. Twitter moved in and claimed the ‘moral high ground’ over Facebook (if morality is ever something an information platform can, in fact, claim).

Aside from the obvious popularity boost for the platform, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said: “This isn’t about free expression.

This is about paying for reach. Paying to increase the reach of political speech has significant ramifications that today’s democratic infrastructure may not be prepared to handle.”

The announcement was a first in the sector, but now that the dust has settled Twitter will need to implement this policy and it’s not going to be without bumps in the road.

One of the big questions is: who will be most affected by the ban? Despite Trump’s grievances with Twitter’s plan, he and other big names in politics are unlikely to be affected.

Once a politician reaches a certain level of fame, they make the news—one Tweet becomes five news stories. But for politicians with smaller Who to follow? audiences, such as those Want information on nuclear running for local positions, and other relevant topics? they rely on political adverts to extend their reach, project This issue we recommend messages and break through you follow: the news cycle. Without these adverts, it is be extremely @urencoglobal difficult to get noticed. @VirginiaCrosbie For me, how Twitter will @theCCCuk moderate this ban will be the @WorldEnergyTV most interesting story.

‘Political’ ads and campaigns is a broad description in a world where almost everything can be linked back to politics. How Twitter will define ‘political,’ I’m sure will provoke some debate in the coming months. There are the sensitive topics that will be dangerous territory, which they could have a tough time winning whatever side they choose.

There will also be the question of who this applies to, as well as the content of these posts. Is it just politicians and campaigns that will be subjected to the ban? Or will any person or organisation with political ties or leanings face increased moderation of their paid promotions?

Twitter hasn’t hit any of these big tests yet but I’m betting with the US elections coming up later this year, the ban won’t be without problems for long.

Twitter Count Followers: 7,746 Tweets: 10.8 K

@jack We’ve made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally. We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Sellafield Ltd appoints New Chief Executive for RWM new Chief Executive Martin Chown has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of Sellafield Ltd. He assumed his new role and responsibilities on 1 February, leaving his current role as Sellafield Ltd Deputy Chief Executive and Supply Chain Director.

Prior to this, he held senior positions in both the public and private sector. His experience stems from roles within the Cabinet Office and Balfour Beatty. He has also held senior roles with GlaxoSmithKline, Toyota and Varity Perkins. He is also a board member of the Nuclear Industry Association.

Martin said: “It’s an honour to become the Chief Executive of one of the most important companies in Britain. We’re responsible for some of the most significant and exciting environmental and engineering challenges anywhere in the world.

“I’m privileged to be able to lead a team of incredible professionals, supported by extremely capable supply chain partners at a critically important time in the evolution of the Sellafield site.

Sellafield Ltd Chair, Lorraine Baldry said: “I’m delighted to welcome Martin... He was chosen from an exceptionally strong field and I look forward to working with him as we continue to deliver our mission in the national interest.”

David Peattie, chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), said: “As the largest NDA subsidiary business, the success of Sellafield Ltd is of fundamental importance to the NDA. I look forward to working with Martin as part of the NDA group and in continuing to make progress on all fronts across the Sellafield site.”

Karen Wheeler will oversee RWM’s radioactive waste management services and the delivery of a long-term solution for the UK’s higher activity radioactive waste.

RWM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the NDA, provides radioactive waste management solutions and, on behalf of the UK government, is the organisation responsible for the delivery of a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) – a deep underground, highly-engineered facility, to house the UK’s higher activity radioactive waste.

Karen’s appointment follows former RWM Managing Director, Bruce McKirdy’s decision to retire, and she took up the position at the beginning of February.

On her new role she said: “I am delighted to be joining RWM as Chief Executive, to lead the delivery of its nationally important work, providing solutions for managing radioactive waste. RWM is at a particularly exciting stage in its work to find a suitable location for a deep underground Geological Disposal Facility.

“I look forward to working with the RWM team, the NDA group, and with the many stakeholders and communities involved and interested in this important project.”

Karen‘s previous full time role was Director General Border Delivery Group, responsible for leading the cross government work to prepare the UK border for Brexit. She has also been a Non-Executive Director on the RWM Board since September 2018.

Rolls-Royce make announcement to BBC on SMRs Rolls Royce was in the news in late January when the company told the BBC’s Today programme it plans to install and operate factory-built Small Modular reactors over the next decade.

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NIASS Celebrates Another Success NIASS is pleased to announce helping Capgemini UK secure a contract for the Transition and Exit of the Target Operating Model and the Integration Management Service for ISO. This enables the disaggregation of ICT services and allows Sellafield ltd to take more control over its ICT services. The Contract is for a period of two years and has a potential value of £9.4m “While we have breadth and depth of relevant experience across UK Government and safety critical industries, we needed help in contextualising this in a relevant and meaningful way” said Jon Brooke, Vice President & Head Of Nuclear at Capgemini UK. “Without their invaluable insight into the ITT process and the independent assistance we would have been unlikely to score as highly as we did in the feedback provided by Sellafield.”

For more information on this and other stories from NIASS contact jake@niass.co.uk.

Mammoet announces new structure and Regional Managing Directors

Following the recent acquisition of ALE, Mammoet has confirmed details of an expanded regional structure and the appointment of its Regional Managing Directors.

The business organization now consists of five regions in order to reflect the operational footprint of the newly combined business – Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe & Russia (EU/R), Latin America (LATAM), Middle East (MEA) and North America (NA).

The Regional Managing Director roles mirror these five regions and will be occupied by established figures from across the company’s culture.

Mammoet CEO Paul van Gelder Commented “Our Regional Managing Directors are a strong representation from both Mammoet and ALE, and as such provide a good foundation for preserving the best of both cultures as we continue to integrate and optimize our operations.

“Importantly, their experience as seasoned engineered heavy lifting and transport professionals will ensure that our newly expanded capabilities deliver the very best value for our clients, wherever they are in the world.”

Unprecedented seventh Golden Whistle Award for Direct Rail Services

Direct Rail Services (DRS) has been named ‘The Best Performing Rail Freight Operator’ for the seventh year running at the Golden Whistle Awards.

The prestigious Golden Whistle Awards are made on the basis of operational performance statistics and DRS has, once again, been recognised as the UK’s most reliable freight operator.

Now in its 11th year, the awards, organised by the Institute of Railway Operators and in conjunction with Modern Railways Magazine, celebrate operational excellence across the industry and over 300 rail professionals attended the event at the London Marriott Hotel on 24 January.

Norman Egglestone, DRS’ Head of HSEQ and Performance, said: “DRS has been awarded another well-earned Golden Whistle Award which is only made possible by the huge commitment to customer service across the whole business, a real team effort, week on week, month on month, and something we never take for granted.

“DRS has and continues to maintain our track record of delivering commercial freight services arriving at destination on time or no later than 14 minutes late at a level above any other freight operator.

“This is no easy feat and reflects the professionalism and ethos of everyone at DRS.” Debbie Francis, DRS’ Managing Director, added: “Safe, secure and reliable is at the heart of the DRS mission and we ensure this is in everything we do, these awards are a testament to the dedication of all colleagues and I want to thank each and every one of them for all of their superb efforts over the last 12 months; this award is for them.”

DRS is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and supports its decommissioning mission as the UK’s only rail freight operator licenced to transport nuclear material.

NDA Group Commercial Director and DRS Chair Kate Ellis, said: “DRS makes a vital contribution to the NDA’s decommissioning mission and I am delighted to see them win such a prestigious award, once again reflecting their commitment to service reliability and the values of the NDA.”

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Nuclear 2019 once again provided attendees the opportunity to celebrate key industry achievements over the past year while also looking forward to the year ahead.

Just as the industry faced some bumps in 2019, it seems fitting that the conference itself encountered its own challenges this year due to the General Election and subsequent Purdah preventing some of our originally planned sessions from going ahead. Despite this, the day was a huge success and emphasised the opportunities that lie ahead for the civil nuclear industry.

Stuart Crookes and Julia Pyke of EDF Energy delivered updates on new build at Hinkley Point C and the opportunities this will bring to Sizewell. Delegates also learned about the successful delivery of Bradwell into care and maintenance and had the opportunity to find more out about the AMR competition from Urenco and the advantages these technologies can bring to the UK economy.

Presenters including Zheng Dongshan, CGN UK, highlighted the crucial role nuclear can play in achieving net zero.

This was underscored in the conference’s message—in line with the NIA’s current campaign—that it is time to Rediscover Nuclear.

We would like to thank all sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and attendees who helped us deliver such a successful day and we look forward to seeing you all at DECOM 2020 in Telford, 17 June!

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SNAPSHOT

Assystem awarded contract for next phase of ITER Divertor Remote Handling System

Assystem, the world’s second largest nuclear engineering organisation with UK headquarters in Blackburn, has been awarded the contract for the final design phase 1 and prototype testing of the Divertor Remote Handling System (DRHS) for the ITER project, the world’s largest fusion energy device being constructed in Cadarache, France.

The DRHS is one of the first remote handling systems to be provided as part of the European contribution to ITER by Fusion For Energy (F4E), the EU organisation responsible for Europe’s involvement in the project.

The DRHS design pioneers the application of industrial expertise to fusion projects including systems

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engineering approach, design for safety, rescue and recovery and reliability including radiation hardening.

Stephen McTeer, Technical Leader said: “The Divertor Remote Handling System is an essential tool for maintaining ITER. This will be the largest fusion device ever developed.

“It is a harsh irradiated environment requiring regular maintenance and once it begins deuterium-tritium operations in 2035, the only safe way of entering the reactor will be with remotely operated machines and tools.”

Successful production of electricity through fusion has been elusive for decades, but ITER is projected to achieve first plasma by 2025 by replicating the

process which powers the sun. The DRHS forms a crucial part of this larger ambition, and therefore represents an exciting opportunity to work on a groundbreaking project which has the potential to revolutionise energy production.

Success to date has been the result of a blend of academic and industrial experience, as well as collaboration with European partner organisations such as RACE (UK), Tamlink (Finland) and Wälischmiller (Germany). Over the course of 2020, Assystem will be expanding the DRHS team in preparation for full Final Design starting in Q1 2021.

Assystem successfully completed the preliminary design of the DRHS in the first quarter of 2019.

Ieuan Williams Public Affairs Manager ieuan.williams@niauk.org

“BEING PERMANENTLY CHAINED TO THE HOUSE TO DEFEND A WAFER-THIN MAJORITY ISN’T MUCH OF A CATALYST FOR DELIVERING POLICY”

A few months ago, this column was a speculative take on what we could expect from the 2019 December General Election.

I mentioned there were to be “up to 100 new MPs” in the House, and I stressed how quickly things could turn. Anything can happen during election campaigns, and it usually does.

Inevitably, I got some things wrong, but a few things right: we did, in fact, see 140 new MPs; the Liberal Democrats’ polling figures disintegrated like a straw house; and there was indeed endless footage of activists walking round their constituencies clutching soggy leaflets in the rain. One thing I didn’t quite predict, however, was Jacob Rees-Mogg being handed a restraining order from CCHQ to stay away from any and all media outlets.

Even taking this into account, this election was a very different animal to the 2017 edition. Surveys which suggested a radical shift in the “red belt” constituencies got it spot on—and lifelong Labour voters turned out in their masses to vote Conservative.

The result, therefore, was pretty much as predicted. Mr Johnson got his thumping majority, bringing in a new era of political stability, something we haven’t had for almost a decade.

Despite this not being a massive surprise, it did seem odd the level of disbelief emanating from those in Camp Corbyn as to how their messianic Facebook and Instagram campaigns promising the people endless buckets of cash didn’t cut through to the ordinary voter in the Norths of Wales and England. Incredible, really.

This blind devotion means—at the time of publication—Jeremy Corbyn is still the Leader of Her Majesty’s Official Opposition, prompting the valid question: “is four months too long to spend on deciding a new leader?” Spoiler alert, the answer is yes.

Now we’re in the usual post-election phase where some people are still philosophically asking themselves what it all means, while others are rolling up their sleeves, ready to get on with governing the country. It’s difficult to understate the significance of the election result, especially when it comes to the outcome for the nuclear industry.

Some may take a cynical view and expect politicians to renege on their election pledges, but truth be told, I’m rather optimistic. The Tory manifesto promised regional growth, meeting net zero and massive infrastructure investment. Combine this with the need to pay back the trust put in them by their newly acquired voters, and the desire for strengthening trading relationships with countries beyond the EU and you have a recipe for success. As we know, nuclear projects tick all these boxes.

We also have the advantage of wider policy continuity: work on the Government’s sector deal programmes will carry on, and efforts on developing the Energy White Paper can progress without (hopefully) being completely torn apart and started again.

In another exciting development, the vast majority of our key parliamentary seats are now occupied by MPs in the

party of government. Now it is up to us to build new relationships with them, emphasising how important our industry is to their constituents. They know full well that if they can deliver on such megaprojects, the people won’t forget it.

This isn’t to say there won’t be holdups—at the time of writing, we still don’t know if there’ll be any departmental restructures, or the extent of the expected Cabinet reshuffle, either of which have the potential to seriously delay proceedings.

That said, there are some firm dates in the diary which the Government can’t back down on. The Budget is set for 11 March, the Government’s first big outing for delivering on election promises.

Around this time would be an ideal opportunity to publish the aforementioned Energy White Paper, which will hopefully include announcements on further steps with the Regulated Asset Base financing model.

We’re also expecting the Government to set out its National Infrastructure Strategy alongside the budget, and further down the line for Treasury to carry out its review of implications for Net Zero.

The beauty of having such a majority, is the Government can just get on with doing all this without the fear of being chased by the Whips to make the Parliamentary arithmetic stand up. Being permanently chained to the House to defend a waferthin majority isn’t much of a catalyst for delivering policy.

All things considered, we could be in for one hell of a March.

2020 | SPRING — 29

Supported by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), DECOM2020 will attract delegates from across the sector and topics of discussion will include developments of the sites in the UK and opportunities for the supply chain; views on the global decommissioning market; and where UK companies have potential to win work and the best routes to secure these contracts.

Speakers will look at some key decommissioning projects in the UK, international repositories and lessons learned—touching on cross industry engagement, commissioning and decommissioning.

Confirmed speakers for the day include: David Peattie, CEO, NDA, Gwen Parry-Jones, CEO, Magnox, Martin Chown, Chief Executive, Sellafield Limited, Lesley Sewell, Business Services Director, Dounreay, Paul Pointon, Managing Director, LLWR, Rodney Berkeley, Director for Energy and Infrastructure at the Department for International Trade.

A range of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are on offer* but selling out fast. Book your package today at

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