The National Nuclear Laboratory has brokered a deal that could see a specialist product being developed to help the clean-up Sellafield exported to Japan.

The NNL, which has facilities at on the Sellafield site and in Workington, is working with Rawwater Engineering Company to adapt a specialist alloy seal currently being used in the oil and gas sector, for possible use at Sellafield and, more widely, other nuclear sites.

Rawwater’s Molten Metal Manipulation technology (M3) can seal both large opens and micron sized cracks or pores to prevent fluid leakage, both in the air and underwater. It can help stabilise structures and provide long-term radioactive sealing.

Trails in simulated Sellafield applications are producing “extremely encouraging” results, said the NNL.

Now major Japanese energy operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is exploring the potential to use M3 across its nuclear power plants, after the NNL brokered the deal between it and Cheshire-based Rawwater.

NNL is monitoring the M3 project and will produce independent reports for TEPCO, which will include results from demonstrates undertaken at its Workington facility.

International account director at the NNL, Kat Lennox, said: “We very much look forward to continuing our work with TEPCO and Rawwater as they explore the full potential of this highly promising technology.”

Rawwater made the move into the nuclear sector through Sellafield Ltd’s Game Changers programme, which helps identify and development technologies that can be deployed at the Sellafield site to aid the ongoing decommissioning effort.

The programme is delivered by NNL and specialist firm FIS360, which supports innovative technologies from concept to commercial production. The adaptation and commercialisation of innovative products, often used in other industries, for the nuclear sector along with exporting technologies developed in Cumbria around the world, are seen as key activities to develop the county’s economy.

The TEPCO deal is a significant development for Rawwater, which pioneered the use of bismuth metal alloy plugs – which can be tailored to expand or remain neutral when it solidifies – as a superior alternative to cement for the oil and gas industry.

It has already caught the eye of the Ministry of Defence, with Rawwater working on engineering the M3 technology into a portable backpack, providing instant emergency metal repairs for use on the front line. It could, for example, be used by troops to repair a damaged fuel tank under fire without having to empty the tank.

Rawwater’s managing director, Prof Robert Eden PhD said: “We’re delighted the versatility and effectiveness of M3 have been acknowledged so widely and are excited by the prospect of working with such prestigious partners.”