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Becca will be presenting at this year's Advanced Nuclear Reactor Design conference, to join the presentations and networking, simply visit the event website.
Please briefly explain your role, involvement, and experience with the nuclear industry
Becca Haigh (BH): I currently work in DESNZ and lead the AMR Research Development and Demonstration programme, which is aiming to deploy a HTGR demonstration by the early 2030’s and also provides funding for the Coated Particle Fuel programme which is aiming to establish a pilot scale production facility by the early 2030’s. I am a chartered environmental engineer by background and entered the industry via the NDA’s nuclear graduates scheme. I have had previous experience working in environmental protection at Oldbury and working on the DCO for Sizewell C.
How would you say your industry has evolved over the past five years?
BH: I haven’t been in the industry as long as some of the other speakers, but I think in my time there has been more of a shift to seeing nuclear as a “green technology” and better understanding of its need to ensure the UK’s net zero goals. I also think nuclear is becoming better known about and more people are aware of its benefits.
What will you be presenting at the ‘Advanced Nuclear Reactor Design’ event and how will this benefit participants?
BH: An introduction to the UK’s Coated particle Fuel, the presentation will highlight plans for the UK’s CPF production and an update on where the programme is at. Which will be relevant to many novel reactor vendors as a possible future fuel.
Which other speakers, presentations or topics are you looking forward to hearing at the forthcoming seminar?
BH: I’m really looking forward to Simon Emeny’s session on lessons learned from HPC and Aiden Peakman’s session on MMRs.
Why is it important for engineers and industry to come together at this event and share best practice?
BH: I think sharing best practice is a key part of any industry! The nuclear industry works best when there is cooperation and lessons learned are shared.
This year's Advanced Nuclear Reactor Design conference will take place on 1-2 October 2024 in Manchester
The conference is a key forum for all technical innovators, manufacturers, designers, and government regulators involved to meet, discuss technical developments and share updates on the latest AMR and SMR projects in the UK and abroad.
Join the 2024 conference and examine how engineers are addressing key engineering challenges, including nuclear criticality safety, data analysis and fault detection, fuel development, and production routes.
For the full agenda and to register to join the discussions at this year's event, please visit the event website.