One element of the contract commissions the consortium to develop a national Low Level Waste Strategy. According to Studsvik, this opens the way for large scale treatment of UK low level waste including the safe recycling of large amounts of low-level metallic waste.

The contract has two primary elements. The first element focuses on Managing the repository and maintaining future capacity for its existing storage vaults, gaining regulatory approval for continued operation at the site, developing plans for the long-term future of the site. The second element of the contract is of particular strategic importance to Studsvik. It commissions the consortium to develop a UK-wide low-level-waste strategy to manage the increased levels of waste expected from the NDA’s planned decommissioning of redundant nuclear facilities across the country.

As a leading waste management company, Studsvik has technology that can reduce the volume of the waste that needs disposal and stabilizing the final waste in the process. There is an estimated 500 000 tonnes of low level contaminated metal in the country, out of which Studsvik estimates that more than 80% or more can be recycled.

Magnus Groth, President and CEO of Studsvik, comments: ‘We are delighted that our consortium has secured this first historic competition with the NDA and the confidence they have in our team to support them in developing the UK low level waste strategy. We feel that Studsvik will play a key part in the team utilising the decades of experience we have gained in waste volume reduction and stabilisation technologies’.

The duration of the contract is five years, with options to extend that could culmuniate in a further twelve years extension. The order value for the first five years is GBP 125 million. If all the contract extension options are executed, the potential contract value could be increased to GBP 500 million. Studsvik has a 15 per cent share in the consortium.