2 July 2019

Nuclear AMRC leads key event for UK innovation

Today marks the first day of the Nuclear Innovation UK conference, the first major international event to be held by High Value Manufacturing Catapult’s Nuclear AMRC. Throughout the event, speakers will be sharing the latest nuclear industry innovations with companies from across the UK and beyond.

Today marks the first day of the Nuclear AMRC’s first major conference, sharing the latest in industrial nuclear innovation with companies from across the UK and beyond.

Pictured: NAMRC facility, internal, from above

In collaboration with the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and industry partners, colleagues at the High Value Manufacturing Catapult’s Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre are leading the charge with this fantastic Nuclear Innovation UK conference. The event focuses on research supported by the government-funded Nuclear Innovation Programme.

The Nuclear Innovation Programme is the UK’s first public investment in future nuclear fission for a generation. Closely linked to the Nuclear Sector Deal launched in June 2018, the programme supports the development of new designs for advanced reactors and funds research into advanced manufacturing and materials.

Andrew Storer, Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear AMRC, says:

“With the UK committing to zero net carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, nuclear power must play a major role in our national energy mix. We need to bring new designs of advanced nuclear power plant to the grid within the next 20 years, and the Nuclear Innovation Programme is developing the enabling solutions that will bring these new technologies to market.

We are delighted to host this conference in Sheffield, and to welcome engineers and researchers from across the UK and beyond to discover the latest in world-leading nuclear innovation. More than ever, we need to innovate and to bring innovations together.”

Guest speakers at the conference include Dr Tim Stone, Chair of the Nuclear Industry Association; Allan Cook, Chair of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult; Professor Ian Chapman, Chief Executive of the UK Atomic Energy Authority; Adriènne Kelbie, Chief Executive of the Office for Nuclear Regulation; plus leading figures from the Nuclear AMRC, NNL, and Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

The conference includes a series of technical presentations covering research projects from all areas of the Nuclear Innovation Programme: advanced manufacturing and materials; advanced fuels and recycling; and reactor design and engineering.

The Nuclear AMRC is leading two of these advanced manufacturing projects: Simple (Single Manufacturing Platform Environment) and Inform (Intelligent Fixtures for Optimised and Radical Manufacture). Through these high impact ventures, the Nuclear AMRC is looking to develop new tools and techniques which could help halve the production time and cost for pressure vessels and other large components for new reactors.

Conference delegates will have the opportunity to visit the centre’s research factory on the Advanced Manufacturing Park to see the Simple and Inform technologies in action.

The Nuclear AMRC has also worked with partners on other projects funded by the Nuclear Innovation Programme. These include the Fit For Modules project led by Cammell Laird to develop fundamental systems for modular design; research into advanced joining technologies led by Frazer-Nash Consultancy; and the Mattear project (Materials and Manufacturing Technology Evaluation for Advanced Reactors) led by Wood.

The event is hosting more than 250 delegates from across the UK and international organisations at Sheffield’s historic Cutlers’ Hall over 2–3 July 2019. Find more information about the Nuclear AMRC and the Nuclear Innovation UK conference here.

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