K-TIG Limited announced that it has signed a formal agreement with the Nuclear AMRC. The project will see K-TIG and the Nuclear AMRC collaborate to develop the robotic welding cell within a Nuclear Industry Technology Demonstration Facility. This will optimize the Sellafield Tranche 2 ILW container design and steady state manufacturing processes.

K-TIG will own all Intellectual Property developed by the project meaning it can commercialize ILW welding cells and create a competitive advantage to become a supplier to Sellafield in its future procurement activities. The project will harness the latest robotic automation technology, sensor integration, statistical process control, QC, QA and welding procedure automation to develop a robotic welding cell. The intention is for it to be adaptable to service the decommissioning of nuclear power sites around the world.

The project will be delivered in three phases concluding no later than December 2023. K-TIG General Manager UK and EU Ben Hall is Chair of the Steering Committee which will govern the project. While the primary focus of the K-TIG Nuclear AMRC collaboration is to develop a turnkey robotic welding cell suitable for Sellafield Tranche 2 ILW containers, the project paves the way for an adaptable solution to what is a global issue.

Up to 17,000 3 m³ stainless steel boxes are expected to be needed by Sellafield as part of its GBP 1.5 billion procurement plan currently scheduled to commence in Fiscal Year 2023/24. There is also the potential for a further 50,000 containers. Storing nuclear waste requires containers which must maintain integrity for a minimum of 150 years.

K-TIG technology will provide that through consistently repeatable high-quality welds and integration of cutting-edge real time quality inspection capability, such as ultrasonic and acoustic sensors.