The Direct Research Portfolio (DRP) contracts will be shared by a series of consortia involving established nuclear companies, global cross-sector corporations, UK universities, national laboratories, plus small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The 3 new contracts will run for 4 years, replacing the previous DRPs awarded in 2016, and follow a 6-month procurement process. The 12 successful consortia, 6 of which are led by SMEs, involve over 60 organisations in total.
NDA Research Manager, Yvonne Morris, said:
We were very pleased with the high quality of the submissions and it was good to see so many new organisations, as well as those established in the nuclear sector, taking part in the process and forming successful consortia.
The diverse range of organisations involved in the frameworks will help ensure a breadth and depth of coverage over the NDA’s decommissioning mission.
The NDA’s DRP forms a key part of its strategic research programme and provides direct funding for research that delivers innovation across multiple sites, develops technical expertise and informs strategy.
The contracts cover three areas:
The new DRP contracts support the NDA’s University Research Strategy and is aligned to four of the NDA’s strategic themes. They will also address cross-industry R&D requirements identified by the Nuclear Waste and Decommissioning Research Forum, a group that aims to enhance coordination of R&D and technical programmes across UK Site Decommissioning and Remediation and Integrated Waste Management activities. DRP projects often lead to more extensive R&D projects carried out by Site Licence Companies (SLCs) and the supply chain. The combined annual R&D spend by NDA and SLCs is typically more than £85 million.
The framework contracts were awarded to:
University Interactions
Single consortium led by National Nuclear Laboratory
National Nuclear Laboratory
Supported by Frazer-Nash Consulting Ltd, Arup and National Physical Laboratory
6 consortia led by DBD, Eden Nuclear and Environment Ltd, Galson Sciences Ltd, Jacobs, NSG Environmental Ltd and Nuvia.
DBD
Supported by AECOM, Amentum, Westinghouse (WEC), United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and University of Sheffield including Nuclear AMRC (UoS)
Eden Nuclear and Environment Ltd
Supported by Cyclife EDF, Gardiner & Theobald, Golder Associates (UK) Ltd, Hydrock Consultants Ltd, Integrated Decision Management (IDM), University of Bristol and WSP UK Ltd.
Galson Sciences Ltd
Supported by National Nuclear Laboratory, Frazer-Nash Consulting Ltd, Amphos 21, Lucideon, Mott MacDonald Ltd, Resolve Robotics Ltd, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Orano, Veolia and Universities of Bristol, Lancaster and Sheffield.
Jacobs
Supported by Andra, CL:AIRE, British Geographical Survey, NPL, AFRY, Arup, Brenk Systemplanung, Costain, Thornton Thomasetti, Urenco, Croft, Cogentus, Decision Analysis Services, Longenecker and Associates, MCM, Imperial College London, Universities of Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester.
NSG Environmental Ltd
Supported by Abbott Risk Consulting, KDC, Quintessa Ltd, RPS Consulting Services Ltd, SOCOTEC UK Ltd, The University of Sheffield including Nuclear AMRC (UoS) and Veolia Nuclear Solutions, Lucideon, Mirion Technologies, STERIS and The University of Manchester.
Nuvia
Supported by TÜV UK (TÜV NORD), CIEMAT, Createc, Cognition Land and Water, Lucideon, NucAdvisor, Empresarios Agrupados.
Spent Fuels & Nuclear Materials
5 consortia led by DBD, Eden NE Ltd, Jacobs, National Nuclear Laboratory and Orano
DBD
Supported by AECOM, Amentum , Westinghouse (WEC), United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and University of Sheffield including Nuclear AMRC (UoS)
Eden Nuclear and Environment Ltd
Supported by Integrated Decision Management (IDM), NSG-Environmental Ltd, Nuclear-21, TÜV UK (TÜV NORD) and the University of Bristol
Jacobs
Supported by Andra, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, British Geographical Survey, NPL, Arup, Brenk Systemplanung, Thornton Thomasetti, Urenco, Studsvik, Croft, StrataG, GRI Ltd, Decision Analysis Services, Longenecker and Associates, Thor Energy, Loughborough Materials, Integrity Corrosion Consulting, Gary Was Consulting, Nigel Donaldson Consulting, Imperial College London, Universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester, Oxford and Sheffield
National Nuclear Laboratory
Supported by Frazer-Nash Consultancy Ltd, Galson Sciences Ltd, GRI Ltd
Orano
Supported by EDF Energy, Cavendish Nuclear, Lucideon. Galson Sciences Ltd, University of Manchester, University of Sheffield.
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