News

Nuclear grad’s farewell and new manager appointed to key role

23 December 2022

The first of a second cohort of graduate engineers is leaving U-Battery after a successful secondment with the team at Capenhurst. 

Jugraj, 24, (pictured left) joined in the summer of 2022 as part of the Energus nucleargraduates scheme from his sponsor Rolls Royce.  

He has worked on the potential scalability of the U-Battery reactor, looking at sizes which can provide beyond 10 MWt, which is the original design. 

Jugraj is moving to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for a six month placement, before returning to Rolls Royce. 

Jugraj, who’s from the Midlands, said: “I’ve had a great time with the U-Battery team.

“I’ve gained a range of experiences to work towards my chartership with the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). 

“I’ve also attended a range of events for the company, including conferences such as the World Nuclear Symposium, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Advanced Nuclear Reactor Design conference and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Conference in Vienna.”

U-Battery’s Principal Engineer John Eldridge said: “We’ll be sad to see Jugraj go because he’s been such a committed and valuable member of the team, as well as an ambassador for the project beyond his years. We wish him the best.” 

Meanwhile, U-Battery has appointed a business development manager to assist on matters relating to the AMR Research, Development & Demonstration Programme, and further market engagement with potential end-users for the U-Battery. 

Alix Johnstone-Morfoisse (pictured right) joins us from the University of Sheffield’s Translational Energy Research Centre. She has previous experience in business development in low carbon technologies for industrial decarbonisation, and a background in nuclear engineering. 

Her role will be key as the team continues to work with BEIS after having secured £500k funding for Phase A (Front End Engineering Design) in September 2022. 

Alix said: “This is a very exciting time for U-Battery and I’m glad to join the team to support the future development and strategy of the business. AMRs are perfectly positioned to enable the Net Zero transition of the UK and beyond.”

Steve Threlfall, U-Battery General Manager, said: “I’d like to welcome Alix to the team at an important time in the project’s development and where we continue to work towards a UK first-of-a-kind reactor by the late 2020s.”