WNE2025 | WNE INNOVATION AWARDS 2025
WNE Innovation Awards 2025
Celebrating the innovation and expertise of the entire industry, the prestigious WNE Innovation Awards showcases the key players in the civil nuclear sector who have demonstrated excellence and innovation in one of a wide range of fields
THE WNE INNOVATION AWARDS are a unique opportunity to recognise the remarkable achievements of the industry and promote innovation across the civil nuclear sector. The expert judging panels are looking for know-how, mastery, agility and innovation in projects that encourage the civil nuclear sector to move towards a more responsible and less carbon- intensive world. Applications, which are open to all WNE 2025 exhibitors, closed on 15th September and the winners are to be announced on Tuesday, 4th November starting at 17:45 on the main stage. All four categories have two types of applicants with winners in the large/mid-sized company categories as well as for SMEs/very small companies. Always hotly contested, the categories for 2025 are for innovations in each of these four areas:
Below: Previous winning entry for the Nuclear Safety and Innovation category for big groups and mid-caps winner was Orano and its Oranef – a foldable UAV for inspections within high radiation zones within nuclear power plants. Credit: Orano
To boost Nuclear Installation Performance and LTO (Long Term Operation) The performance of installations and their lifespan are major challenges for the nuclear industry to meet medium- term electricity needs. More broadly, performance reflects the ability of an innovation to achieve strategic, financial, operational, commercial objectives effectively and efficiently. Judging this category are Janaki Devi Kompella, Managing Director, REL SAFE PRA Consulting Private Limited (An Assystem Company); Carolina Losin, Account Executive, Nuclear Sweden, Westinghouse Electric Company; Archita Rajkumari, Nuclear Engineer & Decommissioning Specialist, ENS-YNG; Harri Varjonen, Executive Director, FinNuclear Ry; led by President of Jury Dr Andrew Vickers, CTO AI, Vice President, Capgemini Engineering.
To contribute to more adaptive solutions to new challenges: need for pilotability, climate change, market instability or inefficiency. The nuclear industry will have to adapt to issues such as the increased use of renewables in the energy mix, climate
change, and market instability as well extreme temperatures and water shortages that are likely to be more prevalent in the coming years and decades. President of Jury for this category is Aline Des Cloizeaux, Nuclear Power Division Director, IAEA, and his fellow jurors are Elsa Merle, Research Professor / University Professor Grenoble INP/PHELMA and CNRS/IN2P3/ LPSC; and Teva Meyer, Associate Professor of Geopolitics at the University of Upper Alsace - Research Fellow at IRIS
To optimise construction costs and lead times The construction of nuclear installations is a key factor in their profitability. Moreover, it contributes to the industry’s image and acceptability. Judging this category are jury members Pauline Blanc, Operations Director - New Build Nuclear Women in Nuclear – Assystem; Sheng Lyu, Technical officer in Power Engineering Section, Department of Nuclear Energy, IAEA; Andrzej Sidło Conselor, Ministry of energy of Polish Government; and, Emmanuelle Veran, Business Unit MPS Director, ECM Technologies. President of the Jury is Velina Argirova, Nuclear Business Line Director, Women in Nuclear – Vulcain
To innovate beyond electricity The nuclear sector has significant development potential beyond electricity production, whether in the fields of propulsion, heat production, low-carbon hydrogen and valuable molecules, space or medical nuclear, or in the field of desalination and agriculture. President of the Jury in this category is Loyiso Tyabashe, Group Chief Executive Officer, South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa). He is joined by jury members Fred Dermarkar, President and CEO, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd; Saran Diakité Kaba, Founder & Director, SDK Strategic Design for R&D; Fiona Rayment, Non Executive Director, Trustee and Nuclear Advisor and President of the Nuclear Institute, University of Manchester; and, Professor Yahya Tayalati of CERN. In 2023 nearly 130 innovative projects competed across
five categories: Social and Environmental Responsibility, Nuclear Safety, Knowledge and Skills Management, Operational Excellence and, Products and Services. The winner of the Nuclear Safety category for large
companies was Oranef, a foldable drone that can be inserted into a 100 mm diameter endoscope hole to access radioactive areas for safer inspection operations. Equipped with a miniaturised optical fibre sensor, DosiX, Oranef was developed within the framework of the udd@Orano – Usines De Demain sur les sites industriels d’Orano – project. As well as benefiting from increased visibility among other exhibitors and the industry, a trophy will be awarded to each winner along with a winner certificate awarded during the ceremony. Good luck to all the 2025 nominees! ■
98 | WNE Special Edition |
www.neimagazine.com
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