Amec Foster Wheeler, on behalf of the High Temperature Facility (HTF) Alliance, has officially opened a new laboratory to research the advanced energy systems of the future. The High Temperature Facility will provide open access for research organisations to test materials for applications such as Generation IV nuclear fission, nuclear fusion and advanced gas turbines.
Greg Willetts, Vice President for Consultancy in Amec Foster Wheelerâs Clean Energy business said: âThe 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 High Temperature Facility will improve our understanding about how materials perform at high temperatures, which is vital in the development of new technologies.â?
The opening of the laboratory was attended by VIP representatives of the High Temperature Facility Alliance, a consortium comprising the National Nuclear Laboratory, EDF Energy, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, URENCO, the University of Manchesterâs Dalton Nuclear Institute, the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, the Open University, and Imperial College London.
Managed by Amec Foster Wheeler and based at the companyâs Technology and Innovation Centre at Birchwood Park, Warrington, the HTF will enable researchers to pioneer new understandings, produce data and develop new predictive models that will underpin the selection, manufacture and performance of advanced materials for current and future nuclear reactors and other energy generation technology.
