The UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said on 13 August that three new £25million ($32.7m)  R&D contracts had been awarded to look for innovative solutions to the technical challenges of delivering the NDA’s decommissioning mission.

The Direct Research Portfolio (DRP) contracts will be shared by a series of consortia involving established nuclear companies, global cross-sector corporations, UK universities, national laboratories, plus small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The new contracts will run for four years, replacing the previous DRPs awarded in 2016, and follow a six-month procurement process. The 12 successful consortia, six of which are led by SMEs, involve over 60 organisations in total.

The NDA’s DRP forms a key part of its strategic research programme and provides direct funding for research that delivers innovation across multiple sites, develops technical expertise and informs strategy.

The contracts cover three areas: university interactions; integrated waste management; and site decommissioning and remediation.

The contracts support the NDA’s university research strategy and are aligned to four of the NDA’s strategic themes. They will also address cross-industry R&D requirements identified by the Nuclear Waste and Decommissioning Research Forum, a group that aims to enhance coordination of R&D and technical programmes across UK Site Decommissioning and Remediation and Integrated Waste Management activities. DRP projects often lead to more extensive R&D projects carried out by Site Licence Companies (SLCs) and the supply chain. The combined annual R&D spend by NDA and SLCs is typically more than £85 million.

The framework contracts were awarded to:

  • University Interactions – Single consortium led by National Nuclear Laboratory
  • National Nuclear Laboratory – Supported by Frazer-Nash Consulting Ltd, Arup and National Physical Laboratory
  • Integrated Waste Management & Site Decommissioning and Remediation – six consortia led by DBD, Eden Nuclear and Environment Ltd, Galson Sciences Ltd, Jacobs, NSG Environmental Ltd and Nuvia.

The consortia are as follows:

  • DBD – Supported by AECOM, Amentum, Westinghouse (WEC), United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and University of Sheffield including Nuclear AMRC (UoS)
  • Eden Nuclear and Environment Ltd – Supported by Cyclife EDF, Gardiner & Theobald, Golder Associates (UK) Ltd, Hydrock Consultants Ltd, Integrated Decision Management (IDM), University of Bristol and WSP UK Ltd
  • Galson Sciences Ltd – Supported by National Nuclear Laboratory, Frazer-Nash Consulting Ltd, Amphos 21, Lucideon, Mott MacDonald Ltd, Resolve Robotics Ltd, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Orano, Veolia and Universities of Bristol, Lancaster and Sheffield
  • Jacobs – Supported by Andra, CL:AIRE, British Geographical Survey, NPL, AFRY, Arup, Brenk Systemplanung, Costain, Thornton Thomasetti, Urenco, Croft, Cogentus, Decision Analysis Services, Longenecker and Associates, MCM, Imperial College London, Universities of Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester
  • NSG Environmental Ltd – Supported by Abbott Risk Consulting, KDC, Quintessa Ltd, RPS Consulting Services Ltd, SOCOTEC UK Ltd, The University of Sheffield including Nuclear AMRC (UoS) and Veolia Nuclear Solutions, Lucideon, Mirion Technologies, STERIS and The University of Manchester
  • Nuvia – Supported by TÜV UK (TÜV NORD), CIEMAT, Createc, Cognition Land and Water, Lucideon, NucAdvisor, Empresarios Agrupados.

The Spent Fuels & Nuclear Materials contracts were awarded to five consortia led by DBD, Eden NE Ltd, Jacobs, National Nuclear Laboratory and Orano. These consortia comprised the following companies:

  • DBD – Supported by AECOM, Amentum, Westinghouse (WEC), United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and University of Sheffield including Nuclear AMRC (UoS)
  • Eden Nuclear and Environment Ltd – Supported by Integrated Decision Management (IDM), NSG-Environmental Ltd, Nuclear-21, TÜV UK (TÜV NORD) and the University of Bristol
  • Jacobs – Supported by Andra, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, British Geographical Survey, NPL, Arup, Brenk Systemplanung, Thornton Thomasetti, Urenco, Studsvik, Croft, StrataG, GRI Ltd, Decision Analysis Services, Longenecker and Associates, Thor Energy, Loughborough Materials, Integrity Corrosion Consulting, Gary Was Consulting, Nigel Donaldson Consulting, Imperial College London, Universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester, Oxford and Sheffield
  • National Nuclear Laboratory – Supported by Frazer-Nash Consultancy Ltd, Galson Sciences Ltd, GRI Ltd
  • Orano – Supported by EDF Energy, Cavendish Nuclear, Lucideon. Galson Sciences Ltd, University of Manchester, University of Sheffield.