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Meet the team

Wraparound training to help innovators identify opportunities and attract further funding

Incubator Programme

Commercialising and scaling Game Changers technology

Innovation Forum

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From cleaning-up the country’s highest nuclear risks and hazards to safeguarding nuclear fuel, materials and waste, Sellafield Ltd’s mission is nationally important.As they approach the completion of reprocessing and the site changes to decommissioning activities, Sellafield Ltd are increasingly focussed on environmental remediation and waste management.Research and development (R&amp;D) is fundamental to the delivery of their mission.&nbsp;New technologies and techniques can improve safety, security and reduce costs, timescales and environmental impact.Sellafield Ltd work in four value streams, prioritising efforts and maximising value:<ul><li>Retrievals: Sellafield Ltd are retrieving nuclear waste, fuel and sludge that are stored inside their legacy ponds and silos, the highest risks and hazards at Sellafield</li><li>Remediation: beyond the legacy ponds and silos, Sellafield Ltd have hundreds of nuclear and non-nuclear facilities that need to be cleaned-up</li><li>Spent nuclear fuel management: Sellafield Ltd are moving towards storing fuel instead of reprocessing it</li><li>Special nuclear materials: Sellafield Ltd have the facilities and expertise to provide safe, secure and appropriate storage for special nuclear materials</li></ul><h3>To support these value streams, Sellafield Ltd are particularly interested in innovation in these areas:</h3>

Sellafield Ltd

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The National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) is a UK government owned and operated nuclear services technology provider covering the whole of the nuclear fuel cycle.Established in 2008, NNL brought together the UK’s nuclear research and development capability into one organisation.NNL provide expertise, technology and access to cutting-edge facilities to organisations around the world.&nbsp;Their scientists and technologists are working at the forefront of nuclear innovation to address challenges and harness opportunities across the industry.NNL work on projects as small as drilling a hole to analyse underground wastes with their integrated microdrilling technology, and as large as developing state-of-the-art power systems, based on radioactive materials, for spacecraft.<h2>Innovation at NNL</h2>NNL has always been at the forefront of nuclear innovation, bringing their expertise to solve some of the industry’s most intractable problems.&nbsp;As custodians of some of the most advanced laboratories, active handling facilities, and nuclear technology research facilities in the world, NNL’s ability to bridge the gap between idea and application is second to none.As the nuclear sector faces a major challenge to innovate in order to compete on cost with other low-carbon technologies, NNL are broadening their innovation capabilities.&nbsp;The organisation has growing expertise in robotics, artificial intelligence and new materials.With a strong focus on adopting innovation from outside the sector, NNL are now working in partnership with Game Changers to find solutions to some of their own challenges.

National Nuclear Laboratory

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Here is some formattable text about Dounreay

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Dounreay is Scotland’s largest decommissioning project and is internationally recognised as one of the most complex nuclear site closure projects. For more than 50 years it was the centre of the UK’s fast reactor research and development.&nbsp;Now the team is aiming to be recognised as a centre of excellence for nuclear decommissioning.&nbsp;The experimental nature of many of its redundant facilities which included the full spectrum of nuclear operation from fuel manufacture and reactor operation to spent fuel reprocessing and waste storage means that the clean up and demolition is complex and requires innovation and great care. Cleaning up the site poses challenges involving both high radiation and contamination as well as various hazardous chemical cocktails. This presents challenges as new and innovative solutions are required to access remote cells, ducts and vessels for inspection, characterisation, size reduction and material handling. The objective is to safely package and dispose of the materials and permit site remediation.

Dounreay

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Magnox is responsible for the safe and secure clean-up of 12 nuclear sites across the UK, including ten former electricity generating stations and two research sites, and the operation of one hydro-electric plant.Following defuelling of the sites, our work now is as diverse as it is challenging as we pioneer the use of innovative techniques to accelerate decommissioning and clean-up.It is a complex process, bringing together many conventional challenges such as asbestos removal and asset management, as well as characterisation, processing and packaging of radioactive waste, land remediation and ultimately removal of reactor cores.Many of the challenges being faced by Magnox are firsts of a kind, meaning our work is constantly pioneering and continually looking for ways of sharing best practice and seeking improvement.We work hand in hand with our supply chain to transform the tools and techniques used to deliver this important work; growing our expertise in areas such as robotics, virtual reality and digital technology which will ultimately offer significant benefits to the UK and beyond.

Magnox

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NWL supplies water and sewerage services to just under 4.4 million people.Water is supplied to 794,000 properties in Essex and Suffolk, with water and sewerage services provided to 1.3 million properties in the north east of England.NWL employs just under 3,000 people and operates:<ul><li>53 water treatment works</li><li>394 water pumping stations</li><li>341 water service reservoirs</li><li>26,200.20 km water mains</li><li>410 sewage treatment works</li><li>1,007 sewage pumping stations</li><li>30,106 km sewers</li></ul>Every day we supply 1,104 megalitres (1.1 billion litres) of water. This water is drawn from reservoirs, where it is collected and stored, rivers and groundwater sources. It is treated at our works before it is delivered by a network of pipes to homes and businesses.In the north east of England, where we also provide sewerage services, wastewater is then collected from these properties via the sewerage network and treated at our works before it is returned to the environment as either clean water or sludge which can be recycled as fertiliser or used to generate energy.

Northumbrian Water

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Part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's (BEIS)&nbsp;£505m Energy Innovation Programme, the Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme (AFCP) is investigating the role of advanced nuclear fuels and fuel cycles for a Net Zero future. With the UK Government committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, AFCP is laying the foundation from which Britain can maximise its current capability, meet Net Zero and continue deploying sustainable fuel and recycling concepts through the future.Developed to help equip the UK with the right skills, technology and networks to achieve carbon neutrality, AFCP leverages cross-country collaboration and cutting-edge science to steer the direction of future energy systems.Led in partnership by BEIS and the&nbsp;UK's National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL),&nbsp;AFCP pioneers a uniquely collaborative approach to innovation. Uniting NNL’s unique nuclear infrastructure with the innovative skills and capabilities of more than 100 organisations across over 10 countries, AFCP is delivering a suite of fuel cycle science themes with measurable impact across Britain’s evolving low-carbon landscape.<h3>Fuel cycle themes</h3>AFCP is divided into 11 distinct themes covering Advanced Nuclear Fuels through to Advanced Recycling and Sustainability.&nbsp;Together, these themes span the nuclear fuel cycle to enable future nuclear innovation and deployment in the UK.&nbsp;Advanced nuclear fuels<ul><li>Accident tolerant fuel: AFCP is elevating advanced technology fuels to realise their full range of benefits, fabricating and testing safe, affordable fuels of the future.</li><li>Coated particle fuel: advanced kernel technology has become increasingly valuable for high-temperature reactor conversations. </li><li>Fast reactor fuel: pioneering fast reactor technologies for more energy-efficient reactors. AFCP is investigating test fuel for fast reactor technologies and transuranic materials handling techniques.</li><li>Nuclear data: improving nuclear data to make energy analysis more insightful and accurate than ever before. </li></ul>Advanced recycling and sustainability<ul><li>Aqueous recycle: efficient recycling of water-based by-product is essential to reduce the amount and radiotoxicity of nuclear material.</li><li>Off gas capture: minimising the environmental impact of advanced recycling while ensuring industry can effectively meet regulation standards.</li><li>Pyro-processing: understanding the chemical and physical changes that can transform used nuclear reactor material into new fuel. </li><li>Waste immobilisation technologies: developing innovative technologies to safely store solid material for generations to come. </li><li>Solvent and effluent treatment: exploring alternative ways of safely treating solvent and effluents resulting from the reprocessing of spent nuclear material in a sustainable, resource-efficient manner. </li><li>Pyro waste: developing technological innovations around safely reprocessing molten salt material. This work develops UK expertise through enhanced understanding of the fuel cycle. </li><li>Fast reactor fuel recycle: developing efficient plutonium recycling routes to reduce raw material usage. Efficiently managing fast reactor material will ensure a sustainable fuel cycle. </li></ul>

Advanced Fuel Cycle Programme

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The pilot Advanced Nuclear Skills and Innovation Campus (ANSIC) is a first-of-its-kind programme for the nuclear sector. Funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and delivered by the <a href="https://www.nnl.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(63, 81, 181);">National Nuclear Laboratory</a> (NNL), the campus will be based at NNL’s Preston Laboratory. ANSIC will unite industry and academia to collaborate on projects which help develop and commercialise advanced nuclear technologies in support of the long-term zero-carbon future.The campus will oversee awards of £1 million into the UK industrial and academic supply chain through a variety of competitive open calls and challenges. Technical and operational support will also be provided by NNL in the delivery of successful bids.Important on-site training and educational opportunities at the campus will help ensure the UK has the necessary skills to maintain its position at the forefront of ground-breaking nuclear research and development.Building on the UK’s long-standing nuclear expertise, ANSIC will support the nation’s nuclear sector to develop operational capacity and deliver new technologies to meet the challenges of deep decarbonisation.Two calls for innovation are now live through ANSIC. <a href="https://www.gamechangers.technology/challenge" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Find out more</a>.Please note that specific IP arrangements are in place for funding applications made to Game Changers for ANSIC opportunities. More information can be found in our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gamechangers.technology/static/u/ANSIC%20funding%20FAQs%203.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ANSIC funding FAQs document</a>.

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Meet the team

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