For full details and to register to join, please visit the event website.
Please briefly explain your role, involvement, and experience with regards to the management of ageing nuclear assets
Dr Jefferson Ridgway (JR): As Chief Technology Officer of Ultra Energy UK, I am responsible for our R&D programme. I help us to deliver innovative safety-critical control and instrumentation solutions to the nuclear industry. A key application for our technology is maintaining nuclear power generation capacity through life extension activities, namely the repair, replacement and upgrade of safety and control systems with minimised impact.
What is the top challenge facing your industry at present?
JR: The growing nuclear industry is pulling on engineering resource across the UK. Finding skilled and experienced engineers is an ongoing challenge, especially in the niche area of safety critical instrumentation that we are in. We find we are often a net nuclear skills contributor in the UK, taking engineers from other regulated industries (e.g. aerospace, defence, medical) and adding the nuclear element.
How would you say your industry has evolved over the past two years?
JR: It’s clear that advanced reactors and SMRs are still many years away from supporting the abundant carbon-free energy security our country needs. While renewables are helping, they can’t completely fulfil the growing demand for reliable electricity that is driven by our net-zero targets. With HPC further delayed, that leaves us with our existing nuclear plants. This has created a greater emphasis on doing more with what we already have: managing aging equipment smarter and for longer. Instead of full equipment refresh we see more modifications, repair and piece-part replacement.
What developments are going on in your industry that may have an impact on the development of future approaches to nuclear asset management and decommissioning?
JR: New build reactors, including SMRs, Gen IV and even licence renewals for existing plant, are pushing for longer lifetimes, some up to 100 years. For such lifetimes, active management of obsolescence begins from the design stage, such as the inclusion of real-time diagnostics, planned technology refreshes, and long-term supply chain support.
What will you be presenting at the ‘Managing Ageing Nuclear Assets and Decommissioning’ conference and how will this benefit participants?
JR: I’ll be giving an overview of the life extensions activities that Ultra Energy has supported, and continue to support, on the safety critical control and instrumentation for the UK Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) fleet.
Which other speakers and presentations are you looking forward to hearing at the forthcoming seminar?
JR: From a design and development perspective, I’m looking forward to Tim Ingram’s talk on User Centric Decision Support Tools. I am also interested to learn about the JET decommission challenges at UKAEA from Nick Jones.
Why is it important for engineers and industry to come together at this event and share best practice?
JR: With the nuclear industry’s growth accelerating, there are a lot of lessons learned that can be shared to lengthen the lifetime of existing power generating capacity, as well as pre-emptively reduce the challenge of extending the life of future generations. Lessons need to be implemented now, with programme teams thinking about the end at the start. That’s what this conference is all about.
The Managing Ageing Nuclear Assets and Decommissioning conference will take place on 22-23 May 2024 at the Emirates Stadium, Manchester.
Bringing together the foremost site holders and experts together with the industry regulators, the conference is a key forum to address both the challenges of maintaining asset integrity beyond intended lifecycle and the process of decommissioning.
Presentations include input from Office for Nuclear Regulation, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield, Harbour Energy, Sellafield, AWE, UKAEA, Cavendish Nuclear and more.
For full details and to register to join, please visit the event website.