Case Study: Sellafield Improves Nuclear Site Safety and Inspection Efficiency with Flyability Elios Drones

Sellafield saves around £5 million a year with Flyability drones

Sellafield, a major nuclear decommissioning site, required a safer and more efficient method for inspecting its vast and often contaminated facilities. The challenge was to reduce the need for personnel to enter hazardous areas while also improving the speed and cost-effectiveness of critical inspections. To address this, Sellafield partnered with vendor Flyability and implemented its Elios drones for indoor inspections.

The solution involved creating an in-house UAV program utilizing Flyability's collision-tolerant Elios drones to conduct visual inspections, LiDAR scans, and radiological surveys. This allowed Flyability's technology to access confined and contaminated spaces without risking personnel exposure. The results were substantial safety improvements and significant cost savings, with Sellafield reporting annual savings of approximately £5 million. The drones also enhanced operational speed, enabling over 200 inspection flights per year and opening up new applications for radiological detection with the Elios 3 RAD payload.

Sellafield