ROV positioning in featureless pond environments

The Sellafield and Dounreay sites both contain ponds which have been used in cooling and storage of nuclear fuel rods as part of the decommissioning process. Sellafield Ltd and Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL) are seeking improved and/or novel solutions to enable them to reliably and repeatedly position ROVs and associated characterisation equipment in a pond, without use of the stored inventory as a x/y coordination guide, to aid in retrieval of radioactive waste.

These opportunities are highlighted in this Game Changers challenge statement. In addition to ROV positioning, DSRL would like to comprehensively characterise their pond structure and its contents over the next 3 – 5 years.

Both organisations have similar pond designs and are collaborating via the Game Changers process. This call for innovation is open to applicants from any sector including industries such as oil and gas, mineral mining, chemicals, civil engineering and construction. Sellafield and DSRL are seeking a proof of concept capable of deployment as soon as practicably possible.

Find out more

An interactive workshop took place on 8 July. Watch the recording to hear more from the challenge owners.


This challenge closes for applications at 12 noon on Friday 30th July.

FIS360
National Nuclear Laboratory

© 2020 Game Changers. See our privacy policy