News

Farewell and thank you to U-Battery’s first ever graduate engineers

01 April 2022

U-Battery has thanked its first-ever graduate engineers who joined us on six-month secondments and are now moving on to pastures new.  

Jack Meiklejohn, Lewis Hatton and Niall Hearty all joined the team as part of the Energus nucleargraduates scheme in 2021. 

They were given a surprise send-off at a recent Institution of Mechanical Engineers annual dinner, where they were handed gifts and commemorative photos. 

Jack is now off to the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) for a further six-month placement before eventually re-joining his sponsor company, Rolls-Royce. 

Lewis is also sponsored by Rolls Royce, and will next be seconded to RACE (Robotic Application in Challenging Environments), part of the UKAEA. 

Niall meanwhile, is sponsored by Magnox and will likewise return to his parent company at the end of his two-year sponsorship. He’ll firstly be moving to Jacobs for a final six-month placement.

All three have enjoyed working on the sustainable energy project, with U-Battery poised to contribute towards fighting climate change, and helping us reach NetZero. The Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) is nearing the end of its conceptual phase. 

Jack said: “I have really loved the opportunity to work on an early-stage plant design for a new, innovative nuclear project. This is the kind of project that most engineers in the nuclear industry don’t get to work on throughout their entire career. 

“It feels really good to get to use the skills and knowledge I have developed at university to work on projects that I truly believe in and will help the UK, and the world as a whole, to meet our climate targets.”

Lewis, meanwhile, praised the U-Battery team as a whole. He said: “A great thing has been the responsibility we have been given while being here, from the start the whole team has treated us like any other engineer and given us high value tasks to deliver on.  This has made the experience both challenging and extremely rewarding.”

He added: “Working on U-Battery has given me insight into how the UK is actually targeting Net Zero by 2050 and has made me want to be a part of achieving this goal. I now know that there is no ‘one-solution’ fits all, but the new energy mix will be made up of all the low-carbon energy we can get our hands on.”

Niall said: “The team have been so lovely to work with, and really treated me as one of their own. It’s not every day that you are surrounded by such high quality colleagues, and I really appreciate all the time they have given me throughout my secondment. 

“Plus, the opportunity to work on a project at such an early stage is so rare, and I have really enjoyed being here at such a crucial time for the U-Battery.”  

Steve Threlfall, General Manager of U-Battery, said: “It’s been a pleasure to work with Jack, Lewis and Niall, and a joy to see their enthusiasm and commitment to the project during this very exciting phase.

“We wish them the very best for the future.”