National Nuclear Laboratory: providing specialised nuclear technology services for an expanding customer base.

The National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) was formally established by UK Government in 2008. It is a government-owned, commercially run organisation that provides the public sector and industrial customers, in the UK and abroad, with a range of specialised nuclear technology services and independent authoritative advice on nuclear issues. Unlike the traditional model of “national laboratories”, NNL receives no direct grant funding from national government. NNL also offers the nuclear scientists and engineers of today and tomorrow a state-of-the-art working environment in which to pursue a rewarding and stimulating career at the cutting edge of nuclear research and technology.

National Nuclear Laboratory

In addition to customer-funded work, NNL has a series of five signature research areas that form the main constituents of its self-funded “Innovation Programme.” These research areas are central to its mission and are of strategic importance to the UK and global nuclear industry. They are spent fuel and nuclear materials; waste immobilisation, storage and disposal; fuel and reactors; legacy waste and decommissioning and nuclear security, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threat.

NNL has a turnover of approximately £80 million and employs around 800 people (of whom over 450 are scientists) at six locations in the UK – Sellafield/Windscale, Workington, Preston, Risley, Stonehouse and Harwell. It is managed by a government-appointed consortium comprising three partners:

Battelle, an independent research and development organisation that specialises in identifying and applying new scientific discoveries
Serco, a company that provides expert counsel to national and local governments on how to improve the quality and efficiency of the public services that they offer, particularly in the areas of healthcare, education, transport, science and defence
The University of Manchester, a hub of academic excellence that specialises in research into nuclear materials.

nuclear technology services

NNL generates additional income from the commercial deployment of NNL-developed technologies and intellectual property, generally through licensing agreements with commercial companies in the nuclear industry. Among its main customers are Sellafield Ltd.; EdF Energy, the UK Ministry of Defence, Babcock, Westinghouse, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), British government and international governments and the European Union.

For more information about NNL and its activities, click on www.nnl.co.uk