Sellafield 'tie-in' connection contract for Ansaldo Nuclear

Under the contract - the value of which has not been disclosed - Wolverhampton-based Ansaldo Nuclear will develop the key 'tie-in' connections that will support the flow of effluent treatment streams between the Sellafield site's existing Site Ion Exchange Effluent Plant (SIXEP) facility and the new SIXEP Continuity Plant being delivered by the Programme and Project Partners at Sellafield.

The SIXEP plant, which has been operational since 1985, removes radioactivity from various site effluent streams on the Sellafield site. The effluent treatment capability currently provided by the plant is needed until around 2060 and is fundamental to the delivery of the Magnox Operational Programme, Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor Programme and high hazard and risk reduction activities.

The SIXEP Continuity Plant will replace the current effluent treatment function of SIXEP itself, with modifications to the existing plant to allow effluent to be diverted to the new facility as soon as it has been through active commissioning. The new plant will ensure there is continued availability of effluent treatment for the future work of reducing high hazard and risk reduction activities.

"Together the two facilities will act as the 'kidneys' of the Sellafield site, filtering out nuclear material before being safely discharged to sea," Sellafield Ltd said.

"Ansaldo is delighted to have been awarded the SIXEP tie-in trials contract," said Ansaldo Nuclear Managing Director Andrea Basso. "This endorsement by the Programme and Project Partners in our ability to deliver this critical development activity for Sellafield is most welcome.

"This work provides another platform for us to continue our successful relationship with Sellafield Ltd and to further develop our Cumbrian presence and supply chain."

In May 2019, Sellafield Ltd awarded four 20-year contracts which together formed the new Programme and Project Partnership. The company said it would work collaboratively with the four partners - Doosan Babcock Ltd, Kellogg Brown & Root Ltd, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure and Wood plc - to deliver major projects in support of the site's 100-year decommissioning programme.

The Programme and Project Partners appointed its first goods and services agreement framework suppliers earlier this year. NIS Ltd, Hyde Group, Ansaldo Nuclear, James Fisher Nuclear, Carr's Group, West Cumberland Engineering and NWEC Alliance were selected to deliver fabricated and manufactured equipment packages for the projects, a framework agreement for an initial three years, worth up to GBP20 million (USD24 million).

"I'm delighted that we've been able to award the first contract as part of the goods and services agreement framework to Ansaldo Nuclear," said Peter Hogg, head of supply chain at Programme and Project Partners. "This framework has been established to enable our projects to make quicker contract awards by removing some elements of a typical procurement exercise. This award proves that the model works, and I look forward to the projects placing more contracts in the near future."