Nuclear support hub, Scotland, UK

Opportunity

HM Naval Base Clyde, located at Faslane on the Gare Loch, western Scotland, is home to the Royal Navy’s fleet of nuclear submarines. Nuclear waste produced at the base is processed by a radioactive effluent disposal facility (REDF) and an active processing facility (APF) both of which are nearing the end of their design life. As part of a £750M programme to upgrade all the existing services and facilities at the base by 2032, plans were put in place for a single new treatment facility to replace the REDF and APF. Mott MacDonald provides design and engineering services to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) through the Principal Support Provider Framework. We were tasked with designing a new liquid effluent treatment plant (ETP), together with a facility to house the plant and all activities associated with handling, cleaning and storage of waste; a nuclear repair active workshop; a pontoon to allow barges to dock and convey effluent to the plant; and a pipeline for the discharge of treated effluent.

Solution

We pursued a collaborative approach to the project, working with the client and key naval stakeholders to fully understand the requirements, identify viable options and manage costs. We engaged specialist vendors early in the procurement process to allow complex designs to be done together. The project teams were based on site and fully integrated, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the site’s constraints, challenges and hazards, while being able to apply best practice from other regulated industries. We produced the business case for the investment on behalf of DIO and procured a suitable contractor for the main works. We carried the project through feasibility, assessment and detailed design stages, and supervised construction in a way that allowed the continued maintenance and operation of the nuclear reactor plant.

Outcome

The new nuclear support hub is scheduled to come into service in December 2023, and the facility will operate until at least 2067. The hub is one of only a handful of such facilities in the UK, and the modern effluent treatment plant boasts up-to-date technology. The new facilities will ensure the safe and environmental disposal of nuclear waste from the base for years to come, enabling the continuous-at-sea operation of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.