Five novel feasibility projects launched to tackle Sellafield’s silo waste challenge

A suite of innovative feasibility projects has been selected to improve solutions for one of Sellafield’s most persistent decommissioning challenges: moving waste materials within the Magnox Swarf Storage Silos (MSSS). The challenge – seeking new ways to avoid or manage crater formation and improve real-time imaging of waste beds to improve the performance of the current retrievals process – closed on 28 August, drawing a wave of fresh ideas. Five applications have been chosen for feasibility funding, with projects kicking off in mid-November.

The work aims to enhance or rethink how waste is retrieved from silo compartments, enabling a flatter waste bed, safer operations, and more predictable excavation. Proposed solutions span robotic manipulators, buoyant grabbers, advanced imaging, and enhanced mechanical access systems. 

CRGI Solutions – Excavator Far-End Assist (EFEA) 

CRGI is developing a retrofit system intended to extend the reach of existing silo excavators to access difficult corners currently beyond central-point retrieval tools. The feasibility project will explore how the EFEA could improve access to residual cavities, help level waste layers, and reduce the risk of grabber entrapment, aiming to support safer and more complete waste removal.

Forth Engineering (Cumbria) Ltd – Buoyancy Bag Mobile Grabber 

Forth is designing a manoeuvrable, thruster-equipped buoyancy-bag platform, incorporating a camera, spreader beam, and grabber. The feasibility study will test how the device could travel to remote areas within silos to reposition waste centrally for existing tools, potentially enabling full-area coverage and improved real-time imaging of the waste bed. 

Veolia Nuclear Solutions UK Ltd – SEP Waste Manipulator 

Veolia is exploring adaptations of its long-reach carbon-fibre manipulators for the project, to be used in waste movement, clearing, and inspection. The feasibility study will assess the potential reach of an existing manipulator and how it could be installed. This assessment will leverage VR digital-twin integration to enhance planning and operator situational awareness, while also evaluating the potential for tooling to support retrieval, cleaning, and size reduction.

Brokk UK Ltd – Brokk Arm System 

Brokk is testing a concept based on its electric/hydraulic robots, designed to operate in hazardous settings. The feasibility project will examine how a standalone arm configuration could provide precise excavation and waste-handling capabilities, keeping operators at a safe distance and improving operational reliability within challenging silo environments.

Taylor Kightley Engineering Co. Ltd – Underwater LIDAR & Blast Centralisation 

Taylor Kightley is developing a combined approach using underwater LIDAR imaging and a water- or gas-blast system. The feasibility study will assess how these technologies could map waste surfaces accurately and actively re-centre dispersed material, supporting a level waste bed and potentially improving the predictability and efficiency of retrieval operations. 

These feasibility studies will help shape the next generation of waste-retrieval technology at Sellafield, underpinning safer, more predictable and more efficient decommissioning operations.