Reducing the Amount of Reagent to Clean Pipes and VesselsCopy Link

The NUiX challenge competition, delivered by the KTN, is supporting Tier 1 and Tier 2 companies (the Challenger) to identify innovative solutions to its innovation challenges. The winning business(s) in this competition will be given a commercial opportunity to deliver their solution, and receive support from the KTN and the wider InnovateUK network.

Background

The Nuclear Innovation Exchange (NUiX) is supporting a challenge holder to identify transferable solutions for its innovation and customer needs.

Nuclear power plants are some of the most complex industrial site requiring remediation in Western Europe. Sellafield alone consists of more than 2,200 buildings including 170 major nuclear facilities.

Post Operational Clean Out (POCO) seeks to reduce plant radioactivity levels by orders of magnitude, which reduces the risk and hazard for decommissioning and, in turn, lowers the lifetime costs of the redundant plants and makes the plant more economical to dismantle.

The challenge holder cannot treat each plant in isolation.  Any effluents (some of which maybe radioactive) generated in the cleaning that are not compatible downstream would need to be extracted and disposed of.  Processes will need to be compatible with downstream plants or reduce the amount of waste chemicals so as to mitigate disposal costs.  If not, the challenge holder may need new effluent treatment capabilities, such as organic destruction techniques.

The challenge is to identify a method of delivering low volumes of reagent to treat pipework and vessels walls rather than filling the entire pipework and vessels which is the current practice or the intended practice.

Whilst not limiting the technologies from solution providers, it is expected that solutions would consider innovations from some of the following areas:

• Oil and gas industry
• Chemical industry
• Construction industry
• Food industry
• Water industry

To meet the desired timescale and minimise risk, it is preferred that the proposed solution, or the key part(s) of the solution, has been previously demonstrated in an industrial environment (>TRL 3).  The solution should be achievable with health and safety requirements and regulations.

Rewards and benefits 

Successful applicants will be given an opportunity to pitch to the challenger. The package may also include:

• Support from the challenge owner to develop the technology
• Support from the Catapults or the KTN to identify development funding opportunities
• Support in the development of a prototype or pilot study
• Technical support
• A place at KTN or Catapult events
• A potential business collaboration
• Potential to access the Game Changers programme (inc. funding)

Solution Requirements

Functional Requirements

• Reagents must be capable of entering the system using current practices
  • Access into vessels may be via existing pipework, wash rings or directly into the vessel
• Any proposed solution must provide minimal impact thus allowing direct recovery of the reagents or provide reagents compatible with existing recovery systems (e.g. effluent treatment plants)
• A solution which can deliver and significant reduction in the volume of reagent so that pipework and vessels don’t need to be completely filled

Technical Characteristics

• Vessels are typically stainless steel and range from 5m³ to 150m³ in volume
• Vessels typically contain stainless steel furniture (e.g. wash rings, baffles, pipes etc.)
• Wall thickness of the vessels are typically <10mm

Deployment Timescale 

• There is an immediate need for the technology
• Validation of solution: within 1 year (via non-active trials)
• Field trials: within 1-2 years (via active trials)
• Commercial implementation: within 3 years (quicker if possible)

Operating Conditions

• The vessels have contained radioactive, alkali and acidic materials
• Temperature inside the vessel is typically less than 50°C
• Vessels can be damp and contain radioactive species in many forms (e.g. sludge, liquid, solids)
• The pipes and vessels are typically in highly congested areas / rooms with limited retrofit opportunities

Cost requirement and market opportunity

• It is estimated that the cost benefit of reducing the use of reagents and level of radioactivity in vessels could lead to savings of £100s millions
• Every nuclear plant which is in the decommissioning phase will need to go through a cleaning process and therefore the global opportunity is significant
• A number of facilities are due to undergo POCO over the next 40 years at Sellafield with opportunities in the next 2-4 years
• Opportunities exist across many decommissioning sites both nationally and internationally

Eligibility and assessment criteria

Entrants to this competition must be:

• Established businesses, start-ups, SMEs or individual entrepreneurs
• UK based or have the intention to set up a UK base

Applications will be assessed on:

• Relevance to the topic
• Innovative nature of the subject
• Coherence of the proposed business model
• Feasibility/ economic viability
• Development potential
• Maturity of project/solution
• Ability to launch project quickly/ease of implementation
• Price/quality ratio
• Suitability for the UK and European Market

IP and Potential Commercial Route

• Existing background IP associated with a potential solution will remain with Solution Provider(s). Where any new IP generation is envisaged, it will be subject to the mutual IP agreement of the Solution Provider(s) and Innovation Challenger.
• Any commercial deployment of transferred solution or newly developed solution, through licensing, joint venture, partnership or direct investment, will be subject to the commercial agreement between the Solution Provider(s) and Innovation Challenger.
• Where necessary, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) may be signed to uphold confidentiality in the engagement between the Solution Provider(s) and Innovation Challenger.
• Innovate UK and KTN do not take any share of IP ownership or enter into commercial venture through the NUiX programme.