Backed by £2m grant from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the HTF will allow research organizations to test materials for applications including generation IV nuclear fission, nuclear fusion and advanced gas turbines.
It will be capable of testing materials at up to 1,000°C or in novel and demanding conditions such as pressurized gas and liquid metal.
In addition to Amec Foster Wheeler, the HIF Alliance consortium includes National Nuclear Laboratory, EDF Energy, the UK Atomic Energy Authority, URENCO, the University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute, the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, the Open University, and Imperial College London.
The official opening was conducted by Professor Andrew Sherry, Chief Scientist at the National Nuclear Laboratory, and
Amec Foster Wheeler Clean Energy business consultancy vice-president Greg Willetts said: “The new laboratory and the HTF Alliance will help to re-establish the UK as a major contributor to advanced technology for new nuclear reactors and other new energy systems.”
The facility will allow research organizations to improve understanding of the materials performance at high temperatures which is vital in the development of new technologies, Amec said.
Amec Foster Wheelerand, which is based at the company’s Technology and Innovation Centre at Birchwood Park, Warrington, will manage the HTF.
Additionally, the researchers will also utilize the facility to produce data and develop new predictive models which support selection, manufacture and performance of advanced materials for current and future nuclear reactors and other energy generation technology.
Image: The new High Temperature Facility in located in UK. Photo: courtesy of Amec Foster Wheeler.
