The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has announced the renewal of its Engineering Design Services Framework with nine companies, following a successful four-year period of delivering various engineering and design desk-based projects.
The Framework, valued at up to £9 million, plays a crucial role in supporting the development of a robust UK industrial supply chain capability by facilitating close collaboration between the selected companies and UKAEA in its pursuit of fusion energy research.
Colette Broadwith, strategic procurement business partner for UKAEA, emphasized the significance of the Framework: “This framework has enabled UKAEA to work collaboratively and with maximum efficiency with the fusion supply chain. By renewing it for another four years, UKAEA can continue to leverage the engineering and technical expertise of our industrial partners to help accelerate fusion energy’s commercialization, for the benefit of all.”
The renewal ensures continued opportunities for suppliers to collaborate with each other and utilize their supply chain on various initiatives, further enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of fusion energy research efforts.
The framework encompasses companies specializing in mechanical engineering, process engineering, systems engineering, electrical, control & instrumentation engineering, computer-based modeling, and specialist nuclear services.
Over the past four years, successes under the Framework include significant contributions to key projects such as:
Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP): Involvement in Tritium transport and parametric breeder blanket modeling development, shielding concept design, heat transfer enhancement assessments, and liquid metal armor design assessments.
Coolant flow loops: Contribution to in-vessel component prototype verification, corrosion experiments, magnetohydrodynamic experiments, and liquid metal technology assessment and research and development.
Breeder blanket concept designs: Development of example breeder blanket concepts focusing on maximizing different high-level requirements.
Joint European Torus (JET): Preliminary design of JET’s graphite main processing system and ancillary systems for cutting divertor coils in the JET tokamak.
The successful collaboration between UKAEA and its industrial partners underscores the importance of continued investment and support for fusion energy research, contributing to the advancement of clean and sustainable energy solutions.