UKAEA secures Britain’s fusion supply chain

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has renewed its Embedded Engineering Resource Framework with seven companies following a successful four-year supply of engineering resources to UKAEA. The companies which are part of the renewed Framework are:

• Amentum Clean Energy Ltd
• AtkinsRėalis Ltd
• BakerHicks Ltd
• Demcon Multiphysics BV
• Frazer Nash Consultancy Ltd
• Optima Systems Consultancy Ltd
• Oxford Sigma Ltd

The up to £9m ($12m) Framework supports the development of a UK industrial supply chain capability giving companies the opportunity to embed and upskill their own engineers within multiple UKAEA projects and programme areas.

Following the success of the first Embedded Engineering Resource Framework, UKAEA is renewing it for another four years. Now with increased capacity to access technical expertise from selected industrial partners, UKAEA says the Framework will help accelerate the commercialisation of fusion energy. The Framework also continues to create the opportunity for companies to collaborate with each other on fusion projects and to bring in their supply chain to support fusion projects.

“Embedding engineers within UKAEA is a win-win,” said Gary Stables, Engineering Frameworks Contract Project Manager, UKAEA. “The embedded engineers help to progress key fusion projects, while gaining valuable skills and experience in fusion. Boosting fusion expertise across the engineering sector is vital for the development of fusion energy and maximising the benefits to industry.”

The Framework features companies with expertise in some or all of the following disciplines: mechanical engineering; process; engineering; electrical, control & instrumentation engineering; engineering analysis & code development; structural & geotechnical engineering; materials engineering; and systems engineering.

Successes from the past four years include embedding more than 80 engineers within the following programme areas:

• JET Decommissioning and Repurposing (JDR)
• Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE)
• Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade
• Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP)
• Fusion Technology (FT)
• Materials Research Facility (MRF)

Ben Quirk, Senior Mechanical Engineer at UKAEA said working on the industry survey of available technologies for sub-surface damage inspection with the embedded engineer was very rewarding. “They did an excellent job leading the investigation into potential technologies to undertake in-bore pipe repair. The engineer worked in collaboration with a wide-ranging team of engineers – both within UKAEA and from partner organisations – and gained skills and know-how about additive manufacturing techniques for the fusion market.”