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A world first: Decommissioning a nuclear fusion machine · Project Podcast

0:08
Welcome to the APM podcast. APM is the chartered body for
0:11
the project profession. My name is Emma De Vita and I'm
0:14
the editor of Project APM's Quarterly Journal and your host.
0:18
In this podcast, I'm speaking to Steve Gilligan, A programme
0:22
manager who's playing a critical role in the world's first
0:25
decommissioning of a nuclear fusion machine.
0:28
He works in Column Campus, just outside.
0:30
Oxford, which is home. To the joint European.
0:33
Torus or Jet A. Tokamak machine where some of.
0:36
The world's most? Important nuclear fusion
0:38
experiments taken place, astoundingly the machine.
0:42
Has housed the hottest. Temperatures in the solar
0:44
system. Yes, even hotter than the sun,
0:47
and has proven that nuclear fusion, as opposed to fission,
0:51
is a viable, sustainable and reliable energy source.
0:54
But now jets days are over and Gilligan is tasked with taking
0:58
apart and reusing and retrieving valuable resources from the
1:01
tokamak. Using robots through remote
1:05
handling is a key part. Of his focus.
1:08
Steve talked to me about what it's like working on such an
1:10
exciting and world leading project.
1:13
While humour is key when it comes to high risk project
1:15
management environments and why it's always worth celebrating
1:19
those project milestones. Ohh, and if you're interested in
1:22
finding out more, read our in-depth look at Jet and the
1:25
decommissioning programme in the Spring 2024 issue of Projects.
1:36
Thanks, Steve. Thanks for joining us on the APM
1:39
podcast. Would you mind giving us a very
1:41
brief history of Jet and also the decommissioning programme
1:46
and where you are with that right now?
1:49
So if if you're not familiar with Jack, Jack stands for Joint
1:53
European Tourists. It's a large scale fusion
1:57
reactor socially known as a tokamak, which is a Russian word
2:03
that describes the the type of machine, which is basically a
2:07
design that uses very powerful magnetic fields to confine a
2:12
plasma. The machine is in the shape of a
2:15
doughnut with all the auxiliary systems around it and it uses
2:21
mostly deuterium and tritium as fuels.
2:25
The jet design was actually initiated in 1969 after visit by
2:32
UK based scientists to visit a machine in in Russia and they
2:37
realised that the tokamak was was likely to be very
2:40
successful. And then in 1977 Cullum was
2:45
chosen as the host site for a European machine.
2:49
So since 1977 the the the machine was constructed and it
2:56
actually only took them six years to to build the facility
3:01
with with the machine and to get to what is called the first
3:06
plasma. So six years from 77 to 1983,
3:11
JET was the first machine to achieve controlled fusion.
3:15
And when it's running and the maximum temperature, it goes up
3:19
to 150 million°C, which at one point made to get the the
3:26
hottest point in the solar system.
3:29
It's quite a machine. Hotter than the sun.
3:34
It's it's it's mind boggling really.
3:37
The first time I saw the machine in Think it's 2003, I just
3:43
thought, this is, this is the stuff of Mad Men.
3:46
Who who came up with this? It's it's it's worked.
3:50
It's been operating since 1983. It's been through a number of
3:55
refurbishments and upgrades to improve the capability to
3:59
perform more science. It's set several world records.
4:04
So yeah, it's it's achieved through the science campaigns
4:08
what it was set out to achieve and actually much more and it's
4:12
it's paved the way for for future fusion.
4:15
So it's a very exciting machine to be working with.
4:18
So how does JET fit in with global research into fusion, and
4:24
why has that been so important? Just as a as a design for for a
4:29
number of reasons sets sets of benchmark.
4:32
It's it's been used progressively over the years to
4:35
prove magnetic confinement, the heating systems, the emissions,
4:43
how you would monitor and control and machine, a future
4:47
fusion device and a lot of other machines that are in the
4:52
pipeline are based on jet design in various forms.
4:57
So for example, the it's a machine that's being built at
5:00
Cadarache in the South of France.
5:03
There's a huge international collaboration, it involves
5:07
governments that represent half of the world's population to
5:11
build this fusion reactor in the South of France that is, is
5:15
based on a lot of what's been learned at JET and even as we
5:20
now head into the decommissioning phase for JET,
5:23
JET isn't finished, it's just entering another phase.
5:27
So it's a in France the STEP device which is a UK design
5:34
being built that W Burton they're all learning from the
5:40
history of jet over the last 40 years of operation and they'll
5:44
continue to learn as we decommission JET.
5:48
What does if? What has it felt like to be
5:52
working there, working with the team, knowing how important this
5:56
work has been and is? Is that part of the reason that
5:58
drew you to to to work at Jet? Yeah, I I actually first came to
6:06
to column in 2003. At that time we were just
6:11
preparing for what was called the enhanced performance
6:15
shutdown and and this was to do a major upgrade of the the Jet
6:20
machine that took fourteen months and that was working in
6:25
the the remote handling team And it was it was incredibly
6:28
exciting because the the the scale of the machine and the
6:33
remote handling that we actually do here on site is world class.
6:37
So it was really good being involved in that And then since
6:41
2003 I've had various roles where I've been involved in
6:46
other shutdowns and then I spent eight years at Itza in the South
6:50
of France in the construction management team and then came
6:55
back to column in in 2016. It's it's always had a draw and
7:01
and being based here at Callum with what happens not just in
7:05
Jet but other programmes and projects that we've got on site,
7:09
all all of it is really cutting edge and exciting to be involved
7:14
in this. There's a lot of day that's
7:16
that's boring. There's there's always a new
7:18
challenge so it's always good motivators to come on site and
7:22
and and try and make Fusion successful.
7:26
How important is fusion to kind of global energy production and
7:30
and the climate crisis just for people who don't might not
7:34
necessarily be aware of nuclear fusion and its potential?
7:39
Fusion has a huge potential to be another source of energy.
7:45
We we know that we've got solar, We know that we've got wind
7:49
turbines. There's various opportunities to
7:53
to harness tidal power. We have nuclear fission, nuclear
7:58
fusion along with these other sources of energy.
8:01
They all have a role to play at some some extent.
8:05
But nuclear fusion is is is incredibly important because it
8:11
is inherently much safer than fission and the byproducts in
8:16
terms of the the fuel that's required and the the waste
8:22
products is is much reduced. So for example, with with with
8:28
jets, the the last record that it set was in in 2023 in in the
8:34
last science campaign and that created 69 megajoules of energy.
8:40
So we had a sustained fusion reaction for five seconds.
8:45
But that only used 0.2 milligrammes of fuel.
8:49
So that is a minuscule amount of fuel compared to being able to
8:55
generate that amount of power from other sources.
8:58
So from a sustainability point of view, fusion is, is very
9:02
important unlike say it gives another, it's another
9:06
opportunity and it's an opportunity that we should seize
9:10
in order that we have a balanced supply of energy and we don't
9:15
put all of our our hopes in one solution.
9:18
We need the options going forward.
9:21
You're in the decommissioning phase.
9:23
I'll talk about that in a SEC. But do is it very much you're
9:28
handing the baton over to step and to eat her in France with
9:32
with the work that's been done at column.
9:35
Yeah, in in terms of the science, a lot of what's being
9:39
learned, the engineers and operators that have worked on on
9:45
chat over the last decades have now moved on to to other
9:49
projects and Steph is is 1. We also have another device on
9:57
site called MAST, which is the Mega Amp spherical tokamak,
10:02
which is a smaller machine, but that's also been very successful
10:07
UK project. So the the workforce has sort of
10:11
diversified and it's getting involved in other projects all
10:17
leading towards fusion as a future energy supply.
10:21
You know, the big question is how close are we, how close
10:25
could we be to to achieving that?
10:28
So a lot of, a lot of people laugh.
10:31
Fusion is always in the future. I don't think that we've ever
10:35
been closer to fusion than we are now.
10:37
Jet has proven that a fusion reaction is is viable and it's
10:44
sustainable. ITER in France will prove that
10:48
you can get more energy out of the machine that you put in.
10:53
So it will become commercially viable and step as a UK based
10:59
project at West Burton as part of UKAA will prove that it's
11:05
commercially viable and will build the first commercial
11:10
reactor here in the UK. So I think we're we're very
11:15
close and the the closeness of proving fusion as an energy
11:21
source and the the importance that is being given to it by by
11:27
UK and international government is, is also why there is so much
11:32
investment. So over the last 10 or so years
11:37
there have been a lot of private fusion companies that have been
11:41
established and they're all working on on various schemes.
11:46
A lot of them are based on on what's been proven at at Jet.
11:50
And so yeah, the investment and the interest is there because
11:54
there is a, there is a motivation we've we've got to
11:57
make fusion work and it's getting closer.
12:01
This is hugely exciting, a hugely important project and now
12:05
it's being decommissioned, which is also a a world first.
12:10
So could you tell us a bit about the decommissioning programme?
12:14
I know it's only just begun and also.
12:16
Your. Role so you're head of jet
12:19
decommissioning and handling, so how does your role fit in within
12:24
that programme of decommissioning and and what are
12:27
you responsible for? So as as Head of Decommissioning
12:32
and Handling, I'm responsible for the commissioning and
12:36
handling as basically the the talk blackened all of the
12:40
auxiliary systems. So the the the jet machine is is
12:44
distributed or the jet facility is distributed across a number
12:48
of connected buildings. The the the machine itself is in
12:52
a concrete bioshield where access is very much restricted
12:57
and then systems branch out into other facilities.
13:01
So what my team is is working on is the effectively the design
13:07
for how we will decommission the the jet machine.
13:10
So we're having to work out firstly how it went together,
13:15
considering that at the time it was mostly done through through
13:20
paper documents rather than electronic files.
13:23
Have you still got those paper? Documents, Yeah, definitely we
13:27
do. But we're we're trying to work
13:29
through archive, so we've got industrial archaeology going on
13:33
to work out. Machine went together.
13:37
Is anyone sit around who worked on that?
13:39
Yeah, we are. We are quite fortunate that we
13:42
have reached back to a number of engineers who are involved in
13:46
the early days and and also as as part of the the jet
13:50
decommissioning programme we've we've actually on boarded a lot
13:55
of engineers who were involved in the operation of the machine.
13:58
So there's a lot of knowledge, personal knowledge that we've
14:02
we've taken on board as part of the team.
14:04
So you haven't gone back to Russian too much?
14:06
No, no, not so we're we're having to go through this
14:12
industrial archaeology to reverse engineer the the machine
14:17
to work out how to take it apart and then in in doing so we're
14:22
having to schedule all the work The the decommissioning will be
14:26
done under CDM construction design and management
14:30
regulations as well as ionising radiation regs and so on.
14:36
So we're having to work out how to decommission the machine
14:39
safely, not all of our contracting strategy, new
14:44
capabilities that are needed because as part of
14:48
decommissioning we we don't just want to take the machine apart
14:52
and dispose of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of material
14:57
as as waste. What we're trying to do is in
15:01
intelligence being applied to decommission the machine so that
15:06
we repurpose as much of the equipment as possible.
15:10
So you know we want to to use some of the equipment for future
15:15
science experiments on site or with other collaborators in
15:19
Europe. We want to recycle the material
15:22
so they go back into the supply chain and we also want to
15:26
recover as much of the the tritium that the fuel as we can
15:31
because it's not waste, it's it's a fuel, it can be used in
15:34
future devices. So we're trying to to do you
15:38
know apply an intelligent approach to decommission the the
15:43
machine. And in doing so, we've we've got
15:46
connections with for example, the Nuclear Decommissioning
15:50
Authority because we're using this site as a lead and learn.
15:53
So am I right in thinking that a decommissioning of a tokamak at
15:57
this scale has never been done before?
16:00
No, nobody has decommissioned facility on the size of jet
16:05
before for for fusion. It's not only the first of a
16:10
kind project, it's it's also the only project of its type that we
16:15
will we will have the opportunity to to learn from in
16:19
the next 20 or or more years. So it's the timing of it.
16:24
It's really important because it can feed into the design for
16:28
it's a first step and so on. So there's a lot of interest
16:33
growing about what can be learned from decommissioning jet
16:36
because it will help with the design of of the next
16:40
generation. How does that make you feel,
16:42
personally, To work on the project, on something no one's
16:46
ever done before? Is it exciting?
16:48
Daunting. Terrifying.
16:50
I don't wake up every morning thinking I'm going to change the
16:54
world. It's a job, It's a really
16:57
exciting job and the people that I get to work with are really
17:01
intelligent and and really motivated.
17:04
I guess it's only when you sort of step, step back when we've
17:08
achieved a major milestone that you think, yeah, that that was
17:12
really good. We've made a difference here,
17:14
but otherwise, you know, I'm sure a lot of listeners will
17:18
answer you. You sort of get into the day job
17:20
where you're you're constantly churning through the problems,
17:23
trying to find solutions and so on.
17:26
It's only when you sort of step back that you think, yeah, hold
17:29
on, this is you can tend to lose sight of the of the bigger, the
17:34
bigger picture. In terms of project management,
17:37
what have been the biggest challenges that that you kind of
17:40
face in in the in the job at the moment?
17:44
Because this this is a first of a kind project, we're also
17:48
applying first of the kind technology, so I mentioned
17:52
remote handling earlier. So since the mid 1980s Jack has
17:58
had a a large scale remote handling system where we use
18:04
dextrous manipulators. Do you mean robots?
18:09
Thoughts within the machine and that's been a proven system
18:15
we've already operated for about 60,000 hours since the since the
18:20
machine was the remote handling system became operational.
18:25
But the amount of remote handling that we will do in
18:29
inject to decommission it is, is going to be a of a larger scale.
18:36
And in doing so we're also developing a lot of new
18:39
technologies. So for example we're going to be
18:43
deploying large scale cutting devices into the machine with
18:47
sort of metre diameter circular saws deployed robotically to cut
18:53
up copper coils. We've got laser cutting, We're
18:56
going to be using a very high power laser to cut steel away
19:01
and this hasn't been done before, not on the scale that
19:04
that we're looking at in jets. And so I remember when I came on
19:08
site the the those a replica of the tokamak where they were
19:14
using some of the remote handling on that.
19:16
Is that Is that how you learn how to do it before you actually
19:18
go in? And how important is that?
19:20
Yeah. So we we have a a full scale
19:24
test facility so that when the remote handling system isn't
19:28
operating on the JET machine itself, the operators can
19:33
develop their their tasks and do training, document their
19:37
procedures, their safe system of work.
19:40
So we always go through a very thorough process of performing
19:45
trials in in a virtual reality system before we then do task
19:50
training trials and then once everything is proven we we then
19:55
deploy and and do the task inside the the the vessel.
20:00
So that's a major piece of work that we'll be doing over the
20:03
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benefits. Could you give listeners a
20:39
description of the tokamak if you, I mean that's it's quite
20:42
hard to do, but could you give them an idea of what it actually
20:45
looks like and how big it is? OK, so if you were to imagine a
20:52
a a doughnut with a with a hole in the middle, that's that's
20:56
what the tokamak is, is is a doughnut.
20:59
But instead of having the tasty pastry and so on inside, it's a.
21:05
It's a vacuum chamber or vacuum vessel.
21:08
And what's it lined in? So it's a it's a vacuum vessel
21:12
with several layers which provide the containment for the
21:18
gases. It maintains a vacuum and it
21:23
maintains the plasma. The the plasma is mentioned
21:27
earlier, the the machine would get up to 150 million degrees.
21:32
So you have to contain that plasma within what's called a
21:36
first wall. And that first wall comprises
21:40
tireless handles which are made out of fever perineum or carbon
21:46
fibre composites or tungsten or tungsten coated carbon fibre
21:52
composites and and those tiles are able to contain the plasma
21:59
in conjunction with the magnetic field.
22:01
So in theory the plasma shouldn't touch the tiles but
22:06
they will constantly erode as the machine is operating.
22:09
The the plasma is contained by magnetic fields which are
22:14
arranged around all of the the sort of the the tokamak section
22:19
or if you took a slice through the the donut.
22:23
When I went on site I I saw it from afar and I saw the replica
22:29
where you used to test and train.
22:32
But if you were to go into the tokamak, how long would it take
22:36
you to to walk round it, do you think?
22:39
Have you ever tried it? Have been inside the the the
22:43
machine and I think it was 2000 and and four previously
22:48
dependent on the the dose rate exposure to operators.
22:53
We have been able to put personnel into the machine for
22:58
for short duration tasks. You basically call crawl through
23:01
a shoot into the machine through a horizontal port that's sort of
23:06
midway up the outer wall through an Abscess facility, and you
23:12
could do some tasks within the vessel.
23:14
But your entry is limited to to several hours and it's it really
23:20
isn't a pleasant experience because you're wearing several
23:25
layers of undergarments within a a rubberized pressurised suit.
23:30
We've got breathing hoses and so on trailing behind you.
23:37
It makes a really interesting weight loss programme because
23:40
when you come out you can tip the suit and all of the the the
23:45
sweat pours out of it. But since then the machine has
23:49
become more and more activated and we've we've increased the
23:53
the, the operation. So the the reason that we're
23:57
going to deploy remote handling systems going forward is that
24:00
the predictions on the exposure to to operators is that to
24:06
decommission the machine we wouldn't be able to put
24:08
personnel in for 35 years since it stopped operating.
24:13
So we we don't really want to have a very long care and
24:19
maintenance period. What we want to do is
24:21
decommission as quickly and as safely as we can and that means
24:25
that we will use some remote handling and robotics wherever
24:30
we we can justify the the investment.
24:35
So I mean that's one of the challenges, right the the kind
24:37
of technical technological side of things, what are the
24:41
challenges exist like I guess the safety as well is is
24:46
obviously a predominantly important.
24:48
Yeah so jet jet isn't a licenced nuclear site but we have
24:56
significant hazards. We we we have the radiation, we
25:01
have tritium to the fuel that the off gases, the brilliant
25:08
that's used within the machine is is highly toxic.
25:12
We have mercury and other materials on sites and fairly
25:15
exotic materials that we can't handle.
25:19
And even now while we're in an engineering and planning phase
25:24
for some areas where we've actually just started to do the
25:30
the first major decommissioning activity which is to to isolate
25:35
and then remove all of the high voltage power supplies.
25:39
So even this in its in its own rights as a as a first activity
25:46
it's it's 63 Transformers which are very large pieces of
25:52
equipment with with all the associated power cabling and
25:56
control units and so on. And and there's 500,000 litres
26:00
of oil that we've got to try and recover from inside these
26:04
Transformers. So everything is is really large
26:07
scale and you know there's this hazards associated with
26:11
everything we're doing which is why we're we're trying to take a
26:14
very disciplined engineering and management approach to the work.
26:19
Is this kind of massive problem solving part of what you relish
26:23
about the role? Yes, it is there.
26:26
There's nothing on this site that you can say is just stand
26:29
alone and you can just deal with one thing The the power supplies
26:32
that I just mentioned, we're going to decommission 2
26:35
facilities, but they're connected to another dozen
26:38
facilities. So we've got to work out how we
26:41
can bypass some of the power supplies and put additional
26:45
loops in while we're decommissioning others there.
26:49
There's nothing is is is simple about any of it.
26:51
So every day there's a new challenge that we need to work
26:54
out how we're going to overcome it.
26:57
And that's that's part of the the excitement about being on a
27:00
project like this. Do you have a particular project
27:04
management approach when it comes to people on projects and
27:08
is that something you find motivating to work with?
27:11
I mean obviously such talented, interesting international
27:16
experts. So yeah, I mean we we have a a
27:22
very broad mix of people on on on site.
27:25
We have quite a large international community because
27:29
that was a a European project and as as things have progressed
27:35
we've brought in a lot of international collaborators.
27:40
We have a a a very motivated workforce and everybody who is
27:47
here on site is everybody comes across as being motivated to
27:51
help solve the Fusion challenge in in one form or another.
27:56
And that is is is really good to work with with people.
28:01
Because despite the challenges that we have, there's a lot of
28:05
motivation to try and solve those challenges.
28:07
Even if people go above and beyond working in their own time
28:11
to to think about problems and then bring them back into into
28:15
the workplace. But in in terms of trying to to
28:20
to manage this as well the the intelligent workforce and the
28:24
high degree of enthusiasm also brings its own challenges.
28:27
Because sometimes you need to ring people back in to say that
28:32
that's great, but we don't need to worry about the the problem
28:36
in in three years time today we need to focus on the problem
28:40
that we've got today and tomorrow.
28:42
So it's trying to bring things back to we've we've got a plan
28:47
we know what we've got to deal with now but we'll park other
28:50
things and deal with them in the future.
28:52
So managing the workforces has is is really interesting because
28:59
you know sometimes there can be an over motivation to to to
29:03
succeed. Well, I guess that must be it.
29:06
I mean, there's probably people listening to thinking, I wish we
29:09
had that problem, that's all. Nice problem to have, but it's
29:14
it's generally a a pleasant environment and people are
29:18
motivated. Do you have a, I mean a
29:21
particular approach to management?
29:22
How do you manage the teams that you oversee?
29:27
I will be as direct as I need to be in terms of setting
29:33
priorities and and goals and and target dates.
29:39
Because I'm also an engineer as well as a programme manager.
29:43
I'll I'll help the engineering team and try and solve some of
29:47
the problems that we have as we go through them.
29:50
But once I've sort of set out what what the vision is, I am
29:55
very much reliant on a strong project controls team that we
29:59
have to to work through, develop the the detailed schedules to
30:04
achieve the the strategy or vision that's been set out and
30:09
then to to to help the team to deliver it once we've got that
30:13
schedule and cost baseline in place.
30:16
But what I don't do is step back.
30:18
I I still like to very much get involved in the detail and where
30:22
we have problems, try and help the team to solve them.
30:26
So are you. You're very much a manager,
30:29
project manager, who would be walking around the office just
30:32
being part of the team. Yeah, Yeah.
30:35
So I I work in a large open plan office.
30:41
My team is about 120 people of of which roughly half are within
30:49
the building that I'm based in. But I I try and make sure that
30:53
I'm I'm always visible. I'm not shut away in an office
30:57
on my own. If if anybody wants to come and
31:01
talk through something I'm available or I'll walk over and
31:04
just have a chat with people see how they're getting on with
31:07
different things. But yeah, I just try to make
31:10
sure that I'm available and approachable.
31:12
Then you know that I'm part of the team and and also try and
31:16
bring a bit of humour in into things as well because you know
31:21
we we are under some some pressure we have not job to do
31:25
but it also needs to be an enjoyable place to work so that
31:29
that's important that the team knows that I'm approachable and
31:33
that there there has to be a a a bit of humour as well.
31:37
No, and that's such interesting management advice because what's
31:42
instantly springing to mind is when I interviewed Bill Locks,
31:45
who was the NASA programme manager and he he he told me how
31:51
important humour was in these extremely, you know, highly
31:56
pressurised projects where if something goes wrong it it's a
32:00
really big deal. So humour is a a natural way to
32:03
keep people, the team, functioning and people happy.
32:08
It it is important, it is important.
32:10
We're we're we're in a serious business We we are dealing with
32:13
a high hazard environment but also now and again you just have
32:18
to inject a bit of humour to take a little bit of pressure
32:21
off and and it also helps to to to form the team.
32:26
An important question I want to ask you would be what have been
32:28
the lessons around programming, project management that you've
32:32
learned working where you do now that perhaps you'd wish you
32:37
could have told a younger self? Everything that I've done for
32:42
the last 20 or so years since I've been involved in in Fusion
32:47
has has been first of a kind. No.
32:51
No matter how much you can try and relate a new project to
32:55
something that you've done before.
32:57
Every project is different and I think it's important to learn
33:02
that no matter how well you you think you've planned for work
33:08
and how much you've divested energy into into risk management
33:15
and and and so on and trying to make sure that you've got a good
33:18
team. There are always things that are
33:21
going to trip you up. So trying to really just make
33:23
sure that you've you you've got enough contingency on a first of
33:28
a kind project and that you're always transfer anticipate the
33:36
the risk occurring you you can never step back and say I've got
33:41
a plan on just delivering to the plan.
33:44
You need to really keep looking ahead at what's going to
33:48
potentially trip you up in in a month's time, three months,
33:52
time, six months, 12 months, and just keep anticipating the
33:57
issues and make sure you've got enough contingency to to address
34:01
those. Any other words of wisdom?
34:05
Yeah, and enjoy projects. I think it's important you have.
34:10
You have to enjoy them. Don't take a project as just
34:14
being a a a day job. Projects can be can be very,
34:19
very enjoyable when you've got a team that's motivated and are
34:23
all pulling in the same direction.
34:25
What bit of a project do you enjoy the most?
34:29
The party when it closes. So you've had.
34:32
No, we've we've we've we've had a lot of successes along the way
34:39
and I I think the the part that I've really, I really do enjoy
34:44
is when there's an opportunity to recognise what people have
34:47
accomplished. Even even as as we've been
34:52
developing the remote handling upgrades we've we we completed a
34:56
major development programme that took four years to to design
35:00
this new control system and that that involved over 100 people
35:05
working for a a long period, extended days and so on.
35:10
And to be able to step back for for a day, organise a bit of a
35:15
an event for them and and to just socialise and give them the
35:20
recognition for having accomplished the a huge amount
35:24
to to get to that point. And we hadn't finished at that
35:28
point, but it was just an opportunity to so, so to say
35:32
thank you to people for what they've done and I think that's
35:35
important. Was there anything else you
35:39
wanted to add? I did want to ask you whether
35:41
you had any interesting anecdotes from working that
35:44
you're able to share. What I would say is that you
35:48
know colour column the the the site here where where Jack is
35:52
being hosted is, is is a great site there's there's a lot of
35:56
interest in personalities there's a lot of passion about
36:01
what what we do and so you know going forward Fusion is is an
36:07
industry to to to watch. I think there are huge
36:11
opportunities and it it will be a future viable energy source
36:18
and I hope the the the listeners are are interested and we'll
36:23
we'll follow the progress of the of the decommissioning
36:26
programme. Well, definitely we'd love to to
36:28
to to catch up with you regularly to see how things are
36:31
going. So it just leaves me to say
36:33
thank you for your time and sharing your advice.
36:36
Really appreciated. Thank you.
36:39
No problem at all. Thank you for inviting me to
36:41
speak with you. Thanks again to Steve.
36:52
For joining us and. To you for listening to the APM.
36:54
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