2.7
Driving Innovation Through Partnership
Translating the potential of nuclear science into viable technologies and transferable knowledge requires strategic partnerships across both the public and private sectors.
As the UK’s national laboratory, we embrace our responsibility to help cultivate the conditions needed for successful new development and to catalyse collaboration across academia, research bodies, government and industry.
We want to ensure the UK has the capabilities it needs – whether in physical infrastructure, or in the skills and knowledge of our people – to underpin innovation and secure the technologies of the future.
At the heart of this is establishing the necessary relationships across the full spectrum of technology readiness levels (TRLs), which describe the development pathway of new applications, techniques and technologies, to bridge any gaps that exist.
From research in its earliest forms, through to deploying a commercial product that meets regulatory requirements, each TRL is as significant as the next. The stronger the interface between them, the sooner emerging technologies can start to make a difference.
We want to ensure the UK has the capabilities it needs – whether in physical infrastructure, or in the skills and knowledge of our people – to underpin innovation and secure the technologies of the future.
For NNL as an enabler, this means working in partnership with universities, maximising the groundswell of new ideas and concepts, and nurturing upcoming scientists and researchers. We are using our 10,000 combined person years of expertise to help PhD candidates and post-doctoral researchers undertake cutting-edge research, whether through our university-based academia partnerships or in-house vocational research collaborations.
Towards the higher end of the TRL scale, how we support and engage with our customers and partners within industry is also crucial. We want to support and provide the R&D infrastructure and capabilities that will unlock routes to market.
From helping to keep existing reactors operating successfully, to supporting a strong and effective UK supply chain, we will continue to build relationships and programmes that support the entire nuclear sector.
Identifying what is needed. Ensuring the UK has what it takes. Working with others to get there.
From helping to keep existing reactors operating successfully, to supporting a strong and effective UK supply chain, we will continue to build relationships and programmes that support the entire nuclear sector.
Supporting academic endeavour and growing UK expertise
Nurturing knowledge and understanding
Currently, NNL provides industrial co-supervision for around 100 PhD students at universities across the UK. We provide significant industrial funding towards these from our Core Science Programmes, whilst also facilitating access to our unique active facilities, in order to support our purpose of nuclear science to benefit society.
We also facilitate the NDA’s dedicated PhD bursary scheme, through which we industrially supervise candidates. This enables them to engage not only with our own teams and facilities but with our wider customers and partners.
By working in collaboration with academia at these early stages, and in many cases co-writing scientific papers, we can enable cross-fertilisation of knowledge and ensure work at the initial TRL stages can be more successfully progressed.
Deploying our people
NNL staff hold a range of visiting or honorary professorships and teaching appointments, including several visiting professorships, through which we co-lead or contribute to national and international academic research and innovation programmes. This is directly leading to a wider and more effective network for NNL and the translation of research into application within the nuclear sector.
Introducing vocational PhD pathways
In 2017, NNL established the Centre for Innovative Nuclear Decommissioning (CINDe), which represents a successful collaboration with Sellafield Ltd, the University of Manchester, Lancaster University, the University of Liverpool and the University of Cumbria. Based at our Workington Laboratory, CINDe provides an industrially-based platform for vocational PhDs aimed at supporting environmental restoration efforts and building the skills pipeline within West Cumbria.
“Having the opportunity to work directly on site with scientists and professionals at NNL was invaluable for my PhD programme as I was able to draw on their significant expertise to understand the challenges my work could help solve, and connect the dots between theoretical development and industrial application. Now, as an NNL-funded post-doctoral researcher, I am continuing to work on aspects of sustainability and environmental restoration including further investigating aerial radiation mapping of nuclear sites with a view to minimising environmental impact.”
Dean Connor PDRA, University of Bristol
Facilitating the R&D capabilities the UK needs
In the true spirit of a national laboratory, NNL’s unique set of skills, capabilities and facilities positions us at the centre of the TRL scale – helping to test and demonstrate new and advanced nuclear technologies.
This sees us play both a crucial enabling role, for example as part of the Rolls-Royce led UK SMR consortium, and taking the lead on delivery, as with AFCP. For the latter, the ability to convene such a broad range of different partners and stakeholders in business and academia has been a core success factor, and these links will create a lasting legacy.
Across the global nuclear community, we have strong relationships with other UK and international laboratories. It is important that we can seize opportunities for regular collaboration and shared learnings – climate change and energy security are challenges that don’t stop at borders.
And, here in the UK, we continue to work closely with the UKAEA, our counterparts for nuclear fusion, to develop critical UK infrastructure and capabilities that will benefit both fission and fusion programmes.
Underpinning all these collaborations is our relationship with the UK government. We will continue to work closely with our owner BEIS and with other key governmental departments, aligning with domestic objectives and helping to realise the UK nuclear sector’s ability to support a green recovery.
Through the Nuclear Innovation and Research Office (NIRO), a division of NNL operated on an independent, arm’s-length basis and staffed by experts from across the nuclear industry, we advise government on nuclear research and innovation to support policy.
Supporting technical delivery and enabling the UK supply chain
Our specialist capabilities and facilities are assets for nuclear research and development, but they are also an essential component for supporting technical delivery within the UK sector.
Through our key customer work and across all four of our Focus Areas, we are continually identifying opportunities for disruptive innovation, cross-sector collaboration and growth of our UK supply chain.
Translating technology from other sectors: Rawwater and Molten Metal Manipulation (M3)
Cheshire based Rawwater is a well established SME in the oil and gas sector, where its work of over 20 years includes the development of novel alloy-based plugs for reservoirs deep under the ocean.
The Game Changers programme – a partnership in itself between NNL, Sellafield Ltd and FIS360 – introduced Rawwater to the nuclear sector for the first time and provided the opportunity for the adaptation of its alloy-based Molten Metal Manipulation (M3) leak-sealing capabilities for nuclear decommissioning activities.
Working in association with NNL, Rawwater is developing specialist alloy seals for use in nuclear decommissioning. These alloys and application techniques offer exciting opportunities for the rapid, emergency repair of civil structures, seals and pipelines, as well as planned preventive maintenance. By stopping the leakage of liquids and gases from contained systems, Rawwater’s technologies also have a positive environmental impact.
Based on the success of this collaboration, Rawwater is developing three new emerging technologies to further improve decommissioning activities: sealing around pipes and flanges, manually spraying alloy seals and remotely spraying alloy seals.
NNL’s nuclear expertise has complemented Rawwater’s technical and engineering skills significantly, and has enabled the SME not only to provide innovative solutions within UK nuclear but to expand into other sectors and markets.
“We’re delighted that NNL sees the considerable potential of our innovative Molten Metal Manipulation (M3) leak-sealing capabilities for nuclear decommissioning activities. NNL’s unrivalled insight into the requirements of the nuclear industry, combined with its significant technical expertise, has assisted us considerably.
Working in collaboration with NNL has allowed Rawwater to access potential nuclear decommissioning markets both in the UK and internationally. Perhaps most importantly, it has enabled open communication between NNL, Rawwater and end customers – something that has enhanced our understanding of the challenges faced by the nuclear sector immeasurably.”
Kat Lennox Managing Director, Rawwater Applied Technology
The Role of NNL
What we don’t do
Compete with our supply chain
Sell for commercial gain
Work in isolation
What we do
We focus on the work our skills and capabilities are specifically required for, with around a third of our workload currently outsourced to businesses around the UK.
We provide the technical skills, capabilities and advice that government needs from its national laboratory – now and for the future. So when it comes to emerging nuclear technologies, our role is to kickstart the growth of a UK advanced nuclear industry by demonstrating that the technology is viable and cost effective – and thus, investable.
We are setting up virtual collaboration centres across our science and technology centres and our aim is to operate our infrastructure as a user centre so it can be accessed by academia, other national labs and the entirety of the supply chain.