Work is continuing on a £1.5 million project to find innovative ways to deal with decommissioning nuclear sites.

Nuvia, which has a base at Westlakes Science and Technology Park, near Whitehaven, is one of the firms involved in the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Integrated Innovation for Nuclear Decommissioning funding competition.

The UK’s Innovation agency, Innovate UK, has teamed together with the NDA to progress a Europe-wide funding competition aimed at the demonstration and implementation of nuclear technologies to provide solutions to some of the UK’s greatest decommissioning challenges.

Nuvia and its industrial and academic sub-contractors PaR Systems, UKAEA RACE, Clicks & Links, ImiTec, Hu-Tech, University of Manchester and University of Bristol, have assembled a project team able to deliver innovative turnkey decommissioning solutions, known as the Nu-Decom project.

The Nu-Decom project will integrate a mixture of tried and tested technologies with the development and adoption of new technologies and practices.

Nuvia’s Bob Bowen, a remote operations specialist with 30 years’ experience in the nuclear industry, said: "This is a perfect opportunity for Nuvia to apply our expertise and capabilities in the areas of remote operations and nuclear waste management alongside a range of cross sector innovative technologies."

Kurt Canfield, Nuvia’s consultancy divisional director, added: "We are proud to have been selected for phase two of the competition.

"Nuvia has significant and proven experience of realising innovative solutions to complex problems.

"This win will help strengthen our existing RDI efforts and open new business opportunities across the wider global nuclear decommissioning market."