A project management firm has been appointed by the UK Government to lead a £2.9 million research programme into the next generation of nuclear power.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) awarded the contract to Amec Foster Wheeler to use virtual engineering and high-performance computing to improve the design, development and construction of new reactors.

The project is part of a broader effort to put UK industry at the forefront of new nuclear technology, particularly with regards to small modular reactors (SMRs), which could potentially play a key role in the future energy system of the country.

Project partners include the University of Liverpool’s Virtual Engineering Centre, the Hartree Centre, National Nuclear Laboratory, Rolls-Royce, EDF Energy, the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London.

The agreement follows on from the recent contract awarded to the firm by Innovate UK to lead research into manufacturing and materials technologies for the civil nuclear sector.

Clive White, President of Amec Foster Wheeler Clean Energy, said: “We will be bringing together expertise from industry and academia combining the latest digital techniques, such as virtual engineering, with advanced multi-physics modelling and simulation expertise.

“The objective is to enhance reactor design capability and assist UK industry to play a crucial role in our future energy security.”