The UK and Japan will collaborate in automating the decommissioning of nuclear energy and some aspects of fusion energy production as they sign a £12 million research and technology deal.

This deal, named “LongOps”, will be an essential step to performing decommissioning operations, in both nuclear and fusion facilities, more effective by reducing the risk factor of human safety. The technology will also be applicable in upgrading and maintenance of fusion devices.

The £12 million will be funded equally by the UK Research and Innovation, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, and Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company over the 4-year duration. This will open up many advanced opportunities for employment within the engineering and science sectors.

The UK Minister for Science, Research, and Innovation, Amanda Solloway says:

“This innovative research alliance with Japan will ensure we share our expertise in robotics to address complex challenges such as nuclear decommissioning, while helping to secure highly skilled jobs across the country as we build back better from the pandemic.”

A key technology for the project will be the use of “Digital Twins”, which is a technology that can be used to test applications within a virtual world before the real one. This will save time, money, and reduce any risk involved by replicating the development within a safe environment. The advanced analysis will pinpoint potential issues and maintenance requirements to forecast the requirements of devices.

Read more: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/12m-uk-japan-robotics-deal-for-fusion-energy-and-nuclear-decommissioning-research