Why the South West
Nuclear South West is a public/private partnership supporting the nuclear industry with innovation, skills and supply chain opportunities.
Why the South West?
The South West has a large number of assets that have been set up to specifically support and grow the sector:
- EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point C and the STEP nominated site Severn Edge (Oldbury/ Berkeley), four decommissioning sites and defence contracts. The Cluster is well established and growing, with the UK’s highest density of nuclear sites and over 180 nuclear-related organisations such as headquarters of BAE Systems, EDF Energy, GE, Magnox Ltd and NNB Genco.
- The South West Nuclear Hub (a partnership between Bristol and Oxford Universities) is at the cutting edge of nuclear research and development and works with both primes and SME’s to find innovative solutions to industrial challenges. Incorporating the Nuclear Research Centre, it offers opportunities for collaboration with industry partners.
- Ensuring that there is a nuclear competent workforce across the whole nuclear life cycle is the role of the National College for Nuclear (SW Hub), with a range of highly specialised technical training facilities including the Welding, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Centres of Excellence.
- Complex technical projects require high levels of collaboration, and this is catered for with the EPR Design Centre based in Avonmouth, and the Somerset Energy & Innovation Centre in Bridgwater.
- Exceptional facilities for realistic working environments are delivered at University Centre Somerset College Groups’ Construction Skills Innovation Centre and this compliments their Energy Skills Centre and advanced engineering facilities.
- Young people are able to access vocational training leading to highly specialised apprenticeships via the Berkeley Green University Technical College.
- Dorset Innovation Park is a designated Enterprise Zone positioned to support advanced engineering and clean energy technologies, offering a strategic base for nuclear-linked innovation, supply chain development, and cross-sector collaboration.
- Devonport Dockyard serves as a critical national hub for nuclear submarine maintenance and defence-related nuclear capability, underpinning the UK’s strategic maritime operations and sovereign deterrent.
