The Nuclear Decommissioning Agency (NDA) has announced a major partnership in which innovative technologies will be deployed for the first time to remotely and autonomously classify and separate nuclear waste.
This project, Auto-SAS, is jointly provided by Atkinsréalis and Createc, and will partner as Arctec to combine joint experience and track record in the development of automated systems and robotics in the nuclear energy sector.
They apply lessons learned from solutions developed in previous innovation competitions to create a system that will be deployed at the former nuclear site of NRS Allberry.
The NDA is committed to investing up to £9.5 million in the project over four years to help clean up nuclear waste.
How robotics can help remove dangers from nuclear waste liquidation
Manual separation of radioactive waste is complicated and dangerous due to the nature of the material. Therefore, attention is paid. When waste is mixed, it is currently classified as medium-level waste (ILW) or plutonium contaminants (PCM) rather than sorted by type or radioactivity.
Robotics gives you the ability to use technology to more accurately classify nuclear waste, avoiding the use of more expensive waste routes when not needed, eliminating people from dangerous environments and giving them the opportunity to develop new skills.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks explained: “This cutting-edge partnership represents something like the innovation the UK needs to lead the world in safe and efficient nuclear decommissioning.
“Nuclear decommissioning agencies will be at the forefront to use nuclear waste to organize nuclear waste.”
Determine the most appropriate waste route for faster decommissioning
Auto-SAS is initially deployed at the NRS Oldbury Site in South Gloucestershire, obtained from the site’s vaults and used to separate low-level waste from intermediate-level waste generated during the power plant’s operational period.
NRS Chief Technology Officer Andrew Forrest commented: “This collaboration will accelerate nuclear waste management and bring the opportunity to change the game that will deliver decommissioning missions faster, safer and cost-effective games.”
The ARCTEC system uses a combination of sensors to classify radioactive waste before a robotic manipulator can grasp and entrust waste to the most appropriate waste routes.
On behalf of Arctec, Robert Marwood, head of robotics and technology at Atkinsréalis, said:
“Atkinsréalis and Createc have a strong track record in developing and deploying advanced robotic systems in nuclear decommissioning.”
He concluded: “We look forward to combining this expertise to work together and help the NDA achieve effective and optimized waste management at legacy nuclear sites in the UK.”
The ambition is to ultimately transfer learning to support future deployments on other NDA group sites. For example, Sellafield.
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