UK collaboration for safety and security research

Friday, 14 September 2018

Frazer-Nash said yesterday that, working on behalf of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the GBP3.6 million (USD4.7 million), two-year project, aims to deliver a “step change in the UK’s capability as the country moves toward an era of new nuclear build and new technologies”.

Nial Greeves, Frazer-Nash senior business executive for energy said the newly announced project collaboration “brings together a unique mix of expertise” from industrial and academic organisations.

“All of our partners are world-class and leaders in their respective fields. This ground-breaking research and development project will demonstrate to the global nuclear industry that the UK is at the forefront of nuclear safety and security research,” he said.

Eddie Marrett, head of security consultancy at Rolls-Royce, said nuclear safety and security are “converging” and the aim in this project is to support the civil nuclear industry “to integrate these two critical elements to reduce the costs of nuclear power generation”.

Ivan Baldwin, VP customer executive for Government and International Business at NNL, said the National Innovation Programme is “vitally important” to the Nuclear Sector Deal, “positioning the UK to capitalise on global markets as a leader in nuclear technology”.

Through the policy Nuclear innovation, 2016 to 2021: at Spending Review 2015, the government committed to a GBP460 million programme for nuclear research and innovation. A detailed scope definition is ongoing, and following regulator input the programme will be delivered through projects spread over the two years to 2020.
The programme will include a range of activities, including: improving control and instrumentation design for testability; developing a roadmap for regulatory approval of new/novel reactor designs; and the application of model-based systems engineering in the UK nuclear sector. These activities will be monitored against aims and key performance indicators.

Business and Industry Minister Richard Harrington said in the statement from Frazer-Nash that nuclear power “plays a crucial role in maintaining a diverse, clean, secure electricity supply, and our modern Industrial Strategy aims to make Britain the world’s most innovative economy”.  He added: “We will continue to support UK businesses, like Frazer-Nash, so they can take full advantage of this opportunity and drive forward the UK’s nuclear energy capability as set out in the landmark nuclear Sector Deal.”

BEIS published the nuclear Sector Deal in June. The document, which includes GBP200 million in funding for the sector, was developed by the Nuclear Industry Council (NIC) - whose membership is drawn from across energy, manufacturing, engineering, science and research - in partnership with the government. The NIC unveiled its proposals for a nuclear Sector Deal in December last year, following the government's publication of its Industrial Strategy white paper, which highlights the role of nuclear energy in the UK.