STREAM 2: Nuclear robotics and artificial intelligence cluster across Cumbria and Oxfordshire

This proposal is focused on a nuclear robotics and artificial intelligence cluster (RAI), linking Cumbria and Oxfordshire, to accelerate the decommissioning of the country's nuclear legacy and remove people from harm. This will ultimately deliver £billion savings to the UK taxpayer, and help establish the UK as the international lead in nuclear innovation, a US$1 trillion industry [1]. Our collaboration will enable regional growth, job retention and creation, £multi-million investment and cross-sector opportunities in fields such as space, agriculture, and mining. The estimated cost for decommissioning the UK's legacy fission sites is £178 billion, with timescales stretching over 100 years, and current spending exceeding £3.5 billion/year. By far the most significant decommissioning challenges are on the Sellafield site, West Cumbria, which accounts for almost 75% of the estimated decommissioning costs. In Oxfordshire, the Joint European Torus (JET) ceased operations in December 2023 and its decommissioning and repurposing will now progress until at least 2040 at an estimated cost of £1 billion. There are significant commonalities between fission and fusion decommissioning, especially with remote handling operations, and hence the pronounced linkage between the Cumbria and Oxfordshire Nuclear RAI Cluster. RAI is one of the few identified approaches recognised to have significant impact on nuclear decommissioning activities. Recent studies have suggested that RAI has the potential to reduce the cost of decommissioning by £billions, reduce decommissioning timescales by decades and improve worker safety. At the Sellafield site alone, the National Nuclear Laboratory have estimated that RAI has the potential to reduce costs by £11 billion [2]. However, commercial RAI solutions are not yet available for most of the nuclear decommissioning challenges that exist. The Nuclear RAI Cluster will address this, bringing innovative technologies from academia to market. Whilst nuclear decommissioning might be the immediate concern, to achieve net zero goals, the UK plans to invest in new nuclear power plants and offshore windfarms, both of which require new commercial RAI technology to enable them to operate efficiently with minimal risk. Nuclear fusion reactors and space exploration are areas in which the UK has significant ambitions, but neither is possible without advances in commercial RAI tools. The technologies developed in the Nuclear RAI Cluster are directly transferable to these other markets, offering the potential for additional investment streams to be brought to Cumbria and Oxfordshire. The UK Atomic Energy Authority, acting in its role as a national laboratory will lead this PBIAA, enabling access to its extensive networks that connect academia with the supply chain. Research support is provided by two of the UK's leading RAI universities: Oxford and Manchester. Through this programme the University of Cumbria will develop further research capabilities and establish themselves as regional RAI technology transfer lead in Cumbria. Extensive support has been received from both civic bodies (Councils, LEPs) and supply chain representing SMEs and large industry. The objectives of this Nuclear RAI Cluster will be achieved via three overlapping and re-enforcing themes of Collaboration, Creation, and Culture. Activities supported will include secondments, networking, strategic partnerships, competition analyses, technology translation and market reviews amongst others. Impact will include: > 5,000 people engaged with Cluster-driven events > 200 business opportunities > 10 spin-out companies created > 25 licensing deals > 200 jobs created > £22.5M leveraged funding