RACE/WP18 LASER CUTTING TRIAL

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority owns and operates the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) which is the UK's national laboratory for fusion research. CCFE is based at Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire.

CCFE is responsible for the operation of the JET (Joint European Torus) facilities, via a contract between the European Commission and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. JET is the world's largest magnetic fusion experiment and is still at the forefront of fusion research and is closely involved in testing plasma physics, systems and materials for ITER. The JET facilities are collectively used by all European fusion laboratories under the EUROfusion consortium. About 350 scientists from Europe, plus more from around the globe, participate in JET experiments each year, co-ordinated by a programme management unit.

RACE is UKAEA’s state of the art robotics technology centre based at Culham Science Centre. As part of UKAEA, RACE is conducting R&D and commercial activities in the field of Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS). The UKAEA’s primary mission is fusion, and this creates an imperative to develop remotely operated solutions to operate and maintain a fusion reactor.

The Culham Science Centre site is also an attractive location for hi-tech businesses. It houses accommodation for a diverse range of science and technology tenants, including an Innovation Centre for start-up companies

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) requests information in connection with the topics detailed below. Any supplier that does not respond to this PIN is not precluded from any subsequent procurements.

• UKAEA is developing nuclear decommissioning technologies.
• UKAEA is looking at developing cutting technologies for component dismantling and size reduction.

Laser cutting has been identified as a method of cutting the cases presented in this document.