Department of Energy and Climate Change
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Serco, Battelle and The University of Manchester to run National Nuclear Lab
Under the competition to appoint a commercial operator to run the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) at Sellafield it was announced today that a consortium led by Serco with Battelle and The University of Manchester has been selected as Recommended Bidder.
The NNL, formerly Nexia Solutions, will become an international centre of excellence in nuclear research and development, playing a vital role in cleaning up both the UK's nuclear waste legacy, and also contributing to the programme of nuclear new build.
Announcing the Recommended Bidder, Energy and Climate Change Minister Mike O'Brien said:
"I welcome the quality and commitment of the bidders in this competition. The winner has an important task ahead.
"With new nuclear power stations in the UK coming forward by 2018, and decommissioning of old sites progressing, the National Nuclear Laboratory will be an increasingly important facility.
"It will be a leader in high-tech nuclear skills in the UK. And it will help safeguard the West Cumbrian economy in particular."
The role of the contractor will be to provide strategic vision and management to the NNL and to develop it as a stand-alone business. The contract will be for an initial three year period with options to extend by up to two years.
DECC has been engaged in competitive dialogue with the Recommended Bidder and QQEST, a joint venture between QinetiQ and EnergySolutions, since October 2008.
Subject to completion of a number of outstanding actions, the Department expects the contract to come into effect on 1 April 2009.
Notes to Editors
1. The NNL was launched by John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), on 23 July 2008. It is the successor organisation to Nexia Solutions and is currently owned by British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL). As part of the wind-down of BNFL, ownership of the NNL will transfer to the Government on 1 April 2009. The Shareholder Executive will exercise shareholder responsibilities on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), successor to BERR.
2. The NNL currently provides a range of services, notably in support of the nuclear decommissioning programme and the continuing operation of British Energy's nuclear power plants. The Government has concluded that the NNL contains a number of critical skills essential to support nuclear power generation in the UK.
3. The NNL will be operated under a Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) arrangement. The competition to appoint a GOCO contractor was launched on 7 August 2008. The procurement is being conducted under the European Union competitive dialogue procedure. The Shareholder Executive is running the procurement on behalf of DECC with the support of Deloitte LLP (financial adviser) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (legal adviser).
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