Cumbrian Innovation Programme Marks Decade Of Nuclear Decommissioning Progress
A Cumbrian innovation programme has marked its tenth anniversary after helping develop new solutions for complex nuclear decommissioning challenges.
Game Changers was established in 2016 and is sponsored by Sellafield Ltd, with the programme developed and delivered by Penrith based firm FIS360. Its purpose has been to bring fresh ideas and expertise from a wide range of industries into the nuclear sector, helping address difficult challenges associated with the clean-up of the West Cumbrian site and wider decommissioning activity.
The programme began with just two challenges identified at the nuclear complex, but its work has expanded considerably during the past decade. More than 1,000 applications have now been assessed, while over 300 feasibility studies and more than 125 proof of concept projects have been supported through the initiative.
Game Changers has also helped leverage £18.5 million in external funding, while its work is estimated to have generated more than £1 billion in decommissioning cost savings. The figures underline the scale of activity that has developed around the programme since its creation and its role in bringing external expertise into a highly specialised industry.
FIS360 chief executive Frank Allison said the programme grew from early discussions with Sellafield about finding new approaches to challenges at the site. His previous experience with the oil and gas and power industries, together with work through Innovus, an innovation incubator covering industries across Cumbria, helped position the company to act as an independent facilitator.
The approach has been based on relationships across different sectors and academia, allowing challenges within the nuclear industry to be presented to organisations that may have relevant technologies or experience. The programme has therefore created a route for ideas developed outside nuclear operations to be considered, tested and potentially introduced into decommissioning work.
Examples of technology supported through Game Changers include a gamma camera that was originally developed for satellites and later used in medicine before being adapted for the nuclear industry. Another example is an intelligent system designed to identify cracks in water systems, demonstrating the range of technologies that can be brought into the sector through the programme.
For smaller businesses, the programme has also provided a route into an industry that can otherwise be difficult to enter. One SME involved in the initiative said it had never expected to be able to enter the nuclear sector, but described Game Changers as a bridge that provided the confidence and tools needed to take its technology forward.
The programme operates independently, with its role focused on connecting organisations responsible for identifying challenges with businesses capable of developing potential solutions. FIS360 said its success is ultimately measured by whether those solutions can move beyond ideas and become implemented technologies that help address practical problems within the nuclear decommissioning environment.
The initiative also provides access to a much wider pool of potential suppliers and innovators. It can connect Sellafield and the wider Nuclear Decommissioning Authority estate with a potential network of around 100,000 businesses, while using a tailored approach to identify organisations whose expertise could match particular challenges.
Sellafield chief technology officer Robin Ibbotson said the programme has allowed challenges to be taken beyond the traditional nuclear industry and connected the organisation with businesses and partners of different sizes from around the world. He said the approach had produced solutions that would not otherwise have been discovered internally.
The programme is intended to contribute to safer, faster and more cost effective operations, while supporting a decommissioning mission expected to continue for decades. The organisation has indicated that it will continue sharing challenges with external partners, encouraging new ideas and working collaboratively to find solutions that can help progress the work.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has also highlighted the importance of innovation in dealing with former nuclear sites, describing them as some of the most complex and hazardous environments in the country. Its chief research and development officer, Professor Melanie Brownridge, said technology and diversity of thinking are both important to accelerating the decommissioning mission.
The programme has produced benefits beyond individual technologies, with participating smaller businesses developing new capabilities and creating opportunities in West Cumbria. Some of the solutions developed through the initiative could also have applications across the wider decommissioning estate, which includes 18 sites and could provide further value from innovations initially developed for specific challenges.
A celebration event marking the tenth anniversary was held at Energus in Lillyhall, near Workington, on Wednesday, September 9. Reflecting on the past decade, Frank Allison said the wider ecosystem created around Game Changers was among the achievements he was most proud of, with the network extending beyond one location and reaching organisations in Germany, Canada and Norway.
The tenth anniversary marks a decade of collaboration between the nuclear industry and organisations from outside the sector, with the programme now looking towards the next generation of innovators. Its organisers and partners say the experience gained so far provides a foundation for continuing to identify technologies and expertise capable of supporting the long term decommissioning mission.
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