Institution news
Dear Member,
One of the great privileges of being a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers is we have a platform to influence at the highest levels of government and industry.
With 120,000 Members from all over the globe we have a base of knowledge in mechanical engineering unlike any other. It is this base that we use to generate thoughts, ideas and experience that we convert into policy and best practice.
Back in 2014 the Policy Team looked at the contribution small modular reactors (SMRs) could make to our nuclear and manufacturing industries as well as securing our electricity supply. The small modular reactors policy statement made a series of recommendations, one of which was to use the site at Trawsfynydd.
As a resident of Wales I know how important the nuclear industry is for our skills base and manufacturing sectors and that the postponement of Wylfa Newydd power station has been disappointing. However, not all news from Gogledd Cymru (north Wales) is disheartening. Just recently we received feedback on the level of influence our SMR policy paper had on Wales and central Government in determining their nuclear policy and more recently the Nuclear Sector Deal.
Reporting back, Dr John Idris Jones, Chair of the Welsh Government’s Snowdonia Enterprise Zone said,
“I am very grateful for your support and the work done by John Earp, Tim Fox and the IMechE in producing a short report on the potential of Trawsfynydd site as a location for the UK’s first new small reactor.
As a result of that independent report, and work done by the Snowdonia Enterprise Zone Board and Welsh Government, Trawsfynydd is now recognised as the lead candidate site in the UK for small modular reactor development. The independent work of IMechE was a valuable source of testimony regarding the potential for developing an SMR at Trawsfynydd – especially in the early days - and was a valuable source of expert knowledge when discussing opportunities with relevant regional funders.
Indeed the site is now tacitly acknowledged by the UK Government as the site for building the UK's first SMR. This was effectively seen last May in a high profile visit to Trawsfynydd. - Four UK Government ministers came to Trawsfynydd to announce the launching of the Nuclear Sector Deal and its framework for small reactor development. As the Secretary of State, Greg Clark, said, it was no coincidence that they were making the announcement at Trawsfynydd.
The report is a great testimony to the work of the IMechE and its position as an independent organisation whose work is respected for its independence and technical veracity. ”
But it doesn’t stop there. The civil nuclear sector is an area where as an Institution we have been instrumental in influencing and supporting U.K. governments in their decision making. In 2017 we raised the issue of the challenges around leaving the Euratom Treaty as part of Brexit. We were the first organisation to put forward not just papers on the damage that leaving could do to the nuclear industry, but to put forward solutions. As industry leaders we were invited to speak at House of Lords Committees, we presented at various fora where Government was present and were able to encourage them to follow a plan of action presented in our second paper. From our continued involvement in this sector we know that the team leading the exiting of Euratom have essentially taken our suggested pathway.
As a Member I feel hugely proud that we are able to draw on expertise from across the civil nuclear, pressure systems and manufacturing sectors to provide detailed engineering and expert advice that is acted upon. There is still much more to do. There will be technologies that will change our homes, our transport systems and possibly even how we consume goods and services. As engineers, we enable the change that we want to see. The Engineering Policy Unit, with access to our expert membership, will continue to do all we can to make sure our voice is heard.
Thank you,
Dr Jenifer Baxter
Head of Engineering