The Innovation Platform Helping to Solve Global Challenges
The Open Nuclear open innovation programme delivered by FIS360 Ltd on behalf of the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL) aims to find solutions to UKNNL’s technical challenges by giving organisations the opportunity to showcase their innovative solutions and gain valuable funding and support for their ideas.
The United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL) is a world leader in nuclear innovation and is responsible for providing technical support to the UK’s nuclear sector, helping to solve global challenges in the following four strategic areas:
Having identified a number of technical challenges, UKNNL chose FIS360 to support the delivery of Open Nuclear to enable it to engage external organisations and tackle issues through developing new partnerships and leveraging external knowledge and capability. Having successfully delivered the Game Changers Innovation Programme for Sellafield Ltd for over 7 years, FIS360 had the experience and knowledge needed to establish a new route for solving UKNNL’s challenges.
The innovation platform is an important step in encouraging innovation and partnership, providing an opportunity for organisations to contribute to the nuclear industry’s future success.
“Open Nuclear is UKNNL’s open innovation programme that facilitates solution finding for challenges across our four Focus Areas. Our partnership approach engages with a diverse range of external innovators, often outside of the nuclear sector, to bring new ideas and knowledge into our business. Through sharing UKNNL’s nuclear expertise and facilities we’re aiming to co-develop innovative technologies towards commercialisation and shared reward.”Tim Whitworth, Head of Innovation, UKNNL
As the delivery partner for Open Nuclear, FIS360 manages and delivers the programme in several stages:
Discover projects allow solution providers to connect with challenge owners to jointly develop effective solutions to the challenge. Once the Discover funding phase is complete, applicants have the opportunity to further develop their solution in partnership with UKNNL during a subsequent ‘Develop’ phase.
To support these activities, FIS360 have also hosted innovation surgeries, managed speculative funding applications to the programme, and coordinated programme communication.
Following a successful 2 years of Open Nuclear, our contract with UKNNL to continue to deliver the programme has been extended for a further 12 months.
"Within its first 2 years, Open Nuclear has successfully launched five challenges and two Discover projects, reaching out to over 10,000 individuals and companies around the globe. We look forward to an exciting future with Open Nuclear as we strive to bring innovative solutions to new challenges across UKNNL’s four Focus Areas of Clean Energy, Environmental Restoration, Health & Nuclear Medicine, Security and Non-Proliferation."Kate Barrie, Project Manager, FIS360 Ltd
By combining UKNNL’s nuclear expertise, FIS360’s experience of running highly successful open innovation programmes, and the ideas and skills our broad cross-sector network of applicants contribute, we hope to deliver innovative solutions that will provide benefits to UKNNL and the wider nuclear industry.
Please visit the platform website for more information about Open Nuclear.
