Robotic technology in frame to help decommission nuclear sites

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Cavendish Nuclear and partners are developing robotic technology to help with nuclear decommissioning at one of the world’s most hazardous facilities.

The company is merging its radiological mapping technology with virtual reality and robotics to create a new, remotely-operated platform capable of taking apart reprocessing plants at Sellafield.

The decommissioning technology is being backed by £1.5m of R&D funding from Innovate UK, including funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency.

“We are combining technologies developed across different sectors of industry to deliver a breakthrough in the reduction of risks to workers, increased productivity, more efficient management of waste, reduced timescales and lower overall costs,” explained Cavendish Nuclear’s project lead Alan Rutherford.

Sellafield Ltd is looking for new technology to help it decommission the site’s nuclear fuel reprocessing complex and joined forces with the UK Government, Innovate UK and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to create a competition for development funding.

Cavendish Nuclear partnered with OC Robotics and applied Babcock International Group’s virtual reality capability to come up with the Sellafield In-Cell Decommissioning System (SIDS).

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