‘Capsa Solutions’ – a joint venture formed of Eadon Consulting and Arc Energy Resources – has been given £500k to develop a waste container designed to meet the challenges of broad front nuclear decommissioning. The grant was awarded for the 2.5 year development program by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency.

Capsa Solutions was born out of an industry challenge set by Sellafield Ltd to develop a safer, more cost effective and responsible means of disposal, transportation and storage of nuclear waste. Eadon Consulting collaborated with fabrication specialists Arc Energy Resources to form the joint venture; and together they have brought a unique combination of design and manufacturing experience to the project.

Capsa Solutions responded with a new approach to waste container design; with emphasis on safety, simplicity and cost efficiency. The result was a superior container designed from scratch unlike any in operation. The design consists of a simple to manufacture cylinder with a unique and easy to operate closing mechanism that leverages design for manufacture principles for commercial innovation. Capsa Solutions went beyond just looking at lowering the cost of manufacture; design features and capabilities were integrated into the design which could yield savings in all parts of its lifecycle. Purposeful design features which allow the containers to be shipped quicker and easier, stored and filled more efficiently, all contribute to a never-seen-before design which maximises efficiency thus reducing overall decommissioning costs.

Eadon have worked in the nuclear sector for the last 10 years delivering detailed design and analysis of safety critical cranes and pressure vessels. They will provide the analysis and design software, as well as people who are experienced in the delivery of technically challenging projects in the nuclear sector.

Jim Hill from Eadon Consulting  says: “This Smart Grant funding from Innovate UK is crucial in allowing us to move to the next stage of developing the waste container. We can now investigate how much these will cost to produce at volume and look at any design changes and iterations that can be done to make it even cheaper.”

Capsa Solutions is being supported by the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC), and subcontractors Hydrock and Radioactive Waste Management (RWM).

For more information visit: https://capsasolutions.co.uk/