Protecting people working in hazardous environments: Upcoming funding opportunity

Posted by Hazel Duhy on in Sector Group News, Nuclear Decommissioning and Waste (including Storage).

Sellafield Ltd in partnership with Innovate UK, are set to launch a small business research initiative (SBRI) investing in innovative projects that will better equip and support nuclear decommissioning operators working in hazardous environments.

The decommissioning of redundant nuclear facilities is a major challenge for the nuclear industry. While every effort is made to decommission remotely, there is still a need for operators to enter hazardous environments. The aim of this competition is to enable these operators to carry out their tasks safer, quicker and more cost-effectively, while being more comfortable in their working environment.

They will be seeking disruptive solutions; so, this will be a great opportunity to bring ideas together from a wide range of sectors, from creative industries to space applications.

They will be looking for proposals that integrate technologies and will improve such things as:

  • personal safety
  • communication
  • hazard monitoring and protection
  • physiological effects
  • comfort and ergonomics
  • dexterity
  • health monitoring
  • reusability and minimising waste
  • capability

The competition is 100% funded and will be launched in early April 2018. Information will be available shortly on the Innovate UK competitions page: https://www.gov.uk/apply-funding-innovation