James Davies is the Lead Engineer for the European Spallation Source Active Cells project. “ESS” will be the world’s most powerful neutron source and is currently under construction in Sweden. The Active Cells team at RACE are responsible for delivering a working facility to dispose of the radioactive waste generated during the facility’s operation. The levels of radiation are far too high for people to work in, so all of the operations must be carried out using remotely controlled robots.
RACE has been working with industrial subcontractors since 2016 to define and design the equipment required. The project is inherently multi-disciplinary, covering mechanical, electrical, civil, control and software engineering as well as physics. James is responsible for making sure the overall technical requirements of the project are met. This means keeping track of the progress of each design stream and ensuring that the equipment will all work together when delivered.
With the design work on key pieces of equipment approaching completion, the challenge is now shifting to manufacture, install and test this equipment in time for ESS to start live operations. The team’s first delivery to the ESS site was in early 2020 with the successful installation of crane rails which will support a pair of robotic arms suspended from a 9 m long mast.