A NEW £3m competition has been launched to find new solutions to the challenges of nuclear decommissioning.

The contest, entitled "integrated innovation for nuclear decommissioning", is being run by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Innovate UK and Sellafield.

The aim of the competition is to encourage companies in the supply chain - particularly SMEs - to come up with solutions to the challenges of the clean-up.

Companies and organisations with no experience in the nuclear industry with technologies which may cross over have also been encouraged to apply.

Robotics, other automated systems, sensors and detectors, imaging and virtual reality are all areas of interest to the judges.

The competition will be split into two phases, with initial funding available to develop a business case in the first. The group with the best business cases will then progress to the second phase which will involve technology development, integration and finally demonstration in a non-radioactive environment.

It officially opened yesterday and interested parties can now register and access more detailed information.

There will then be the opportunity to attend a briefing event at the Digital Catapult in London on February 14 to help applicants understand the challenge, the competition rules and ask questions. Other networking events will also take place.