New artificial intelligence hub to aid Sellafield decommissioning

The first of a network of robotics and artificial intelligence hubs across the UK has opened its doors.

The centre in Whitehaven, known as RAICo1, will be used by Sellafield to develop tech to decommission the plant.

It will house test environments which mirror those on the Sellafield site, such as gloveboxes and water tanks.

Sellafield head of robotics and AI Rav Chunilal said a "big factor" was having it in Cumbria as it brought in "skilled people" but also developed the area.

The company said it had invested £700,000 in the project, including refurbishment costs.

Sellafield's chief operating officer Rebecca Weston said robotics and AI would make nuclear decommissioning "safer, faster and at less cost".

"RAICo1 is a real step towards achieving that," she said.

"It brings together the owners of the challenges with the people who have the ideas and technology that can solve them."

RAICo1 is a joint initiative by Sellafield and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) in collaboration with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), Manchester University and the National Nuclear Laboratory.

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