A £9.5 million partnership will see innovative technology deployed for the first time to remotely and autonomously sort and segregate radioactive waste.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has committed to invest the cash over four years for the project, which is a collaboration with Nuclear Restoration Services, Sellafield and Nuclear Waste Services.
Auto-SAS will be delivered jointly by AtkinsRéalis and Createc, working as ARCTEC to combine their joint experience and track record of developing automated systems and robotics in nuclear.
They will take learning from the solutions they developed in an earlier innovation competition to develop a system which will be deployed on the NRS Oldbury former nuclear site in South Gloucestershire, the authority said.
Melanie Brownridge, NDA chief R&D officer, said: “This is a hugely exciting project for us, using robotics to autonomously sort and categorise waste and has the potential to save hundreds of millions of pounds in waste storage and disposal costs.
“It’s a great example of collaboration across the NDA group and supply chain to develop transformative solutions to decommissioning challenges which enable us to deliver our mission safely and efficiently.
“Our ambition is to use what we learn here to benefit multiple sites in the NDA group and potentially beyond.”
Manual segregation of radioactive waste is complex and hazardous due to the nature of the material, so caution is exercised and where waste is mixed it is currently all categorised as Intermediate Level Waste or Plutonium Contaminated Material, rather than being sorted by type or radioactivity.
The ARCTEC system will use a combination of sensors to categorise the waste before robotic manipulators grasp and consign waste items to the most appropriate waste route.
Using robotics provides the ability to use technology to more accurately categorise the waste, avoiding using more costly waste routes when they are not needed, while also removing people from hazardous environments and giving them the opportunity to develop new skills, the authority said.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: “This cutting-edge partnership represents exactly the kind of innovation the UK needs to lead the world in safe, efficient nuclear decommissioning.
“It will put the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority at the forefront of using robotics to sort nuclear waste. Not only will this help protect and upskill workers, but by investing in technologies like this, we can ensure better value for taxpayers and potentially save hundreds of millions of pounds.”
Robert Marwood, head of robotics and technology for AtkinsRéalis said on behalf of ARCTEC: “This is an ambitious project with the potential to automate a time-consuming process and develop a scalable system that segregates hazardous materials safely and efficiently.
“AtkinsRéalis and Createc have a strong track record in developing and deploying advanced robotic systems in nuclear decommissioning. We are excited to be able to combine this expertise to collaborate and help the NDA achieve effective and optimised waste management for the UK’s legacy nuclear sites.”
The ambition is to transfer learning to support future deployments at other NDA group sites, for example Sellafield, the authority added.
Rav Chunilal, head of robotics and artificial intelligence at Sellafield Ltd, said: “At Sellafield we’ve experienced first-hand how robotics and autonomous systems can revolutionise nuclear operations.
“Auto-SAS builds on that momentum, protecting our people and unlocking new levels of precision and efficiency in waste categorisation. And it has great potential to set a new standard for waste management across the NDA group.”
Gareth Garrs, head of waste inventory and compliance at Nuclear Waste Services, said: “This is another strong example of collaboration across the NDA group, with NWS providing waste management advice and expertise to the nuclear industry around future waste disposals.
“With the increased deployment of these types of innovative technologies, NWS brings unique expertise in the management of radioactive waste which will ensure we deliver the significant benefits in terms of safety and efficiency.”
The project is being undertaken in two phases. Phase one begins this month until August 2027 and will deliver a fully operational system in an inactive environment.
Phase two will deliver an active demonstration of the system at Oldbury.
