DF has announced preferred bidders for Hinkley Point C, with the contracts for larger components likely to go to French firms. How could UK industry participate more on future nuclear projects? Last week’s poll can only be described as deeply inconclusive. Despite a reasonably strong response, with 772 readers completing the poll, by far the largest group, almost 70 per cent, voted for none of the options we had suggested; and although we deliberately ask people who have chosen the ‘None of the above’ response to explain their choice in comments, only one of the 528 indecisive respondents did so, which makes it impossible to draw any conclusions. The helpful respondent said that he thought UK firms should have nothing to do with nuclear new-build until all of the waste from pevious generations of reactors had been safeky disposed of, although hew didn’t add any thoughts on how this could be achieved to his satisfaction. Although it is of course possible that his feelings were shared by the other 527, it seems unlikely in the light of previous polls and articles on UK nuclear, so we simply cannot say what other options we should have included to get a more conclusive response (it might be worthwhile to say that we can only give a maximum of six options in our online polls). Of the 244 respondents who did pick one of our suggested options, the largest group, 15 per cent, said that future UK nuclear should follow the pattern of previous reactor generations, using technology developed in the UK to draw on a British supply chain. Two options tied on 7 per cent: the renationalisation of the energy sector to ensure that UK companies benefit; and that the government should ensure that main contracts are placed with UK forms. A further 2 per cent noted that UK forging capacity needs to be expanded so that it can handle the large steel components neeeded for nuclear installations. Read more: http://www.theengineer.co.uk/civil/news/last-weeks-poll-ensuring-uk-involvement-in-nuclear/1020833.article#ixzz3jLoPZwrJ

Legal & General has ploughed £162m into a major regeneration project in Leeds, the first to be delivered as a result of the institutional investor’s partnership with the government’s Regeneration Investment Organisation (RIO).

Consultancy heavyweights CH2M Hill and Atkins have teamed up as a joint venture to bid to become the engineering delivery partner for HS2.

NG Bailey grew its underlying profit by 43 per cent during 2013/14, despite continuing to shrink its building construction business.

A Balfour Beatty worker killed while working on the M3 in Surrey has been named by police as 28-year old Ben Collins.

Exclusive: Interserve has had its civils contract on a £120m waste incinerator plant cancelled after the main contractor cited “significant delays” to the work.

A laser technique developed to explore features on bodies in space is proving its worth in improving the efficiency of steelmaking A group of UK companies and institutions with ties to the space industry has developed a technique for detecting defects in cast steel which could improve efficiency in all types of steelmaking. The process, which uses lasers, operates continuously and could help reduce manufacturing costs and the amount of material sent to scrap, the team claims. The laser technique can detect defects on the surface of cast steel at around 1000°C The space connection to the process is that it is based on techniques originally developed to analyse features on the surface of Mars. The developing consortium includes the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), which is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, along with Tata Steel, MPI, Innovative Small Instruments and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at University College London, who were working as part of the two-year HTP-Control project funded by InnovateUK. The process, which uses digital image analysis and is non-destructive, operates at temperatures around 800°C, making it suitable for the environment of a steelworks, and detects cracks and defects in hot-cast steel, the type which is produced in rolling-mills for processing into sheets, tubes and bars. Defects can occur at a number of points in the production process, leading to formation of pinholes and cracks that ruin the strength of the material and tend to lead to product rejection and remelting, increasing the steelworks’ energy usage. It could also potentially be used in glassmaking, ceramics, titanium and other metal alloy casting processes. Tata has installed a pilot version of the technology at its Scunthorpe steelworks for evaluation. “We are delighted with the outcome of the HTP-Control project, a true collaboration where the individual partners have benefited enormously through the bringing together of the whole innovation value chain, from world class research to technology innovation through to industry drive,” commented Prof Jan-Peter Muller, head of imaging at the Mullard Lab “The project has demonstrated true ‘spin-off’ by taking technology that was previously used in the space sector for Mars exploration and applying it to the manufacture of steel. The technology developments achieved are significant for the UK and should benefit a number of high value manufacturing sectors.” Neville Slack, programme manager at CPI, comented: “The project has been of great benefit to CPI and has provided the opportunity to apply these novel defect detection techniques in a number of new projects and also across a range of industries. One example is our continuing collaboration with IS Instruments within other projects and specifically the development of on-line Raman Spectroscopy within the Process Industry.’  

Lafarge Tarmac has relaunched as Tarmac following the completion of CRH’s multi-billion pound takeover deal of assets sold under the Lafarge and Holcim merger.

The two halves of Chernobyl’s New Safe Confinement have been joined together, a development that marks a significant milestone in sealing off Reactor 4 at the stricken site. The operation to slide the two arches together required 24 precise connections on the 28,000 tonne structure to be aligned within millimetres of each other across the full 260-metre arch span. Operation “skid back” was successfully completed within a day and work has subsequently focussed on adjusting and tightening nearly 1,000 bolts to seal the two halves together. In a statement, Vince Novak, EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) director, Nuclear Safety said: “The construction of the New Safe Confinement steel structure is nearing completion and good progress is also being made on fitting the steel frame with the auxiliary systems and equipment essential for operation of the facility and deconstruction of reactor 4. We are confident that all work will be concluded by end-2017 as planned.” The New Safe Confinement is being constructed to seal off reactor 4, which was destroyed in the 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl. The 110m high steel structure – which is 165m long and has an arch span of 260m – has been designed to protect the environment from radiation releases and provide the infrastructure to support the deconstruction of the shelter and nuclear waste management operations. According to EBRD, remaining tasks include the installation of a sophisticated ventilation system which will keep the structure corrosion-free during its lifespan of 100 years, the construction of a technological building as the future control centre and fitting the arch with fully-automated cranes, tools for deconstruction and other auxiliary systems. The New Safe Confinement is being constructed by the international consortium Novarka, led by Vinci Construction and Bouygues Travaux Publics. The New Safe Confinement is being financed by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund and the EBRD.