Babcock awarded 10-year Sellafield nuclear handling contract

Babcock subsidiary Cavendish Nuclear, the UK's largest nuclear services business, has been awarded a 10-year contract to supply Sellafield with specialist handling and containment systems to process nuclear material.

The FTSE 100 company said under the contract, worth up to £95m over the first three years, would see Cavendish Nuclear meeting all of Sellafield's requirements for the design, manufacture and supply of complex, bespoke equipment for the treatment and management of nuclear materials.

It said virtual reality simulation would play a key part in delivering the contract.

Once the preliminary design is complete, full-scale mock-ups with virtual reality headsets would allow the customer to test out the ergonomics and identify any modifications at the earliest possible stage.

Cavendish Nuclear already has extensive experience of working across Sellafield, including ongoing work on the design of remote-handling equipment for the product and residues treatment plant.

It will use Babcock's Rosyth Dockyard, one of the UK's largest manufacturing facilities, for the project.

Following recent major investment in new workshops, fabrication bays and remote overhead cranes, Babcock said Rosyth had a proven track record of delivering large-scale complex products, including the containment doors for the pile fuel cladding silo at Sellafield.

Cavendish Nuclear and its partners will be supported by a supply chain located across the UK, bringing together the best of Britain's nuclear expertise in an integrated team committed to meeting the customer's demanding specification, the Babcock board explained.

“We are delighted that Cavendish Nuclear continues to support Sellafield in the delivery of this strategically important programme,” said Babcock CEO Archie Bethel.

“The team will provide the significant manufacturing capacity the project needs, as well as opportunities to share best practice across the UK.”