Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

What Nuclear Decommissioning Authority does

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a non-departmental public body of the UK government, established under the Energy Act 2004 and accountable to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. It is the statutory authority responsible for the strategic management, decommissioning, and clean-up of the United Kingdom's civil nuclear legacy, including former Magnox reactor sites, the Sellafield complex, research reactors, and associated liabilities. Its mission is the safe, secure, and cost-effective remediation of these sites over a multi-decade horizon.

The NDA does not operate as a commercial enterprise; it is funded through UK government appropriations and discharges its duties through site-licensee companies (including Sellafield Ltd, Magnox Ltd, and Dounreay sites) under contractual arrangements. As a non-departmental public body, it has no conventional revenue line, pricing model, or addressable market; instead, its "customers" are UK taxpayers and sponsoring departments, and its performance is measured against publicly reported cost, schedule, and safety milestones.

In December 2025, the NDA entered a 15-year commercial partnership with Bicycle Therapeutics to supply up to 400 tonnes of reprocessed uranium from the UK's historic spent-fuel reprocessing inventory for use in radiopharmaceutical development. This marked the first material example of NDA monetizing legacy nuclear materials through a long-duration offtake into the life-sciences vertical, complementing its statutory decommissioning role with a derived commercial materials-supply function. Leadership disclosed in source data includes David Vineall (Group Chief People Officer), Gavin Ellis (Chief Information and Security Officer), and Volker Beckers (Non-Executive Director).

Name

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Legal name

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Website

https://gov.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is a UK statutory non-departmental public body that manages decommissioning and clean-up of the country's civil nuclear legacy under the Energy Act 2004, funded via government appropriations and operating through site-licensee companies such as Sellafield Ltd.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nuclear Decommissioning Services

NAICS

Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211), Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (92411), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Decontamination & Dismantling (D&D) of Nuclear Facilities (EUAKAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regulatory compliance, licensing & stakeholder engagement for disposal (permits, public consultation, communications) (EUAKAGAK), Nuclear Materials Testing, Assay & Characterization Services (NDA/NDE, radiochemistry, materials analysis) (EUAKAIAL), Nuclear Waste Management & Geological Disposal (EUACADAM)

Keywords

• Nuclear decommissioning services
• Nuclear site cleanup
• Radioactive waste management
• Reprocessed uranium supply
• Nuclear materials management

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Core offering

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a UK government non-departmental public body that manages the UK's nuclear decommissioning programme, oversees cleanup of nuclear sites, and manages radioactive materials. It provides access to nuclear materials such as reprocessed uranium (up to 400 tonnes committed) for approved applications including medical/radiopharmaceutical use, supplying pharmaceutical partners under long-term government-to-business agreements.

Product overview

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (UK NDA) is a UK government agency responsible for the decommissioning and cleanup of the UK's nuclear legacy. As a government body, it does not offer commercial software products or services in the traditional sense. Its primary functions involve managing nuclear sites, overseeing decommissioning programs, and providing access to nuclear materials such as reprocessed uranium for approved applications including medical/radiopharmaceutical use. The agency operates under the UK government's nuclear liability framework rather than as a product-based technology company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UK Nuclear Decommissioning Programme Management
• Reprocessed Uranium Supply
• Thorium-228 and Lead-212 Radioisotope Extraction

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Bicycle TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 202515-year collaboration to produce radiopharmaceuticals from reprocessed uranium for cancer treatment. Partnership provides up to 400 tonnes of reprocessed uranium and aims to develop tens of thousands of doses annually, targeting resistant cancers.
• Bicycle TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Strategic partnership supporting Bicycle Radioconjugate pipeline development through supply of nuclear materials for cancer therapy development.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• EnergySolutions: US-based provider of nuclear decommissioning, radioactive waste processing and fuel services, comparable to the NDA's commercial-facing activities across site cleanup and materials handling.
• Sellafield Ltd: UK site licensee wholly owned by the NDA, responsible for the operational decommissioning and cleanup of the Sellafield site including reprocessing, spent fuel management and radioactive waste storage — the closest operational peer within the NDA group.
• National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL): UK government-owned nuclear science and technology organization that collaborates with the NDA on isotope processing and nuclear materials R&D, including thorium/lead extraction for the Bicycle Therapeutics partnership.
• Veolia Nuclear Solutions: International nuclear decommissioning and waste management services provider, comparable to the NDA on legacy site cleanup, D&D services and radioactive waste handling across multiple geographies.
• Orano: French state-influenced nuclear fuel cycle company with deep capability in reprocessing, waste management and decommissioning of nuclear facilities — directly comparable to the NDA on spent fuel, uranium recycling and site cleanup.
• Studsvik: Swedish nuclear services firm providing decommissioning, waste management and radiological consulting — a comparable privately operated nuclear services peer with adjacent service offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA): French public research and nuclear energy organization that operates decommissioning and waste management programs analogous to the NDA, including isotope production for medical use.
• UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA): Other UK government nuclear R&D body focused on fusion and advanced reactor technology; comparable as a publicly-funded nuclear authority under DESNZ oversight, though its mission differs from NDA's decommissioning focus.
• US Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management: US federal program responsible for cleanup of the Cold War nuclear weapons complex — functionally analogous to the NDA as a government-led legacy nuclear site remediation program with comparable scope, regulatory framework and budget scale.

Regional players

• Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA): Japanese national nuclear R&D and decommissioning organization, comparable in mandate to the NDA but operating primarily in Japan with comparable responsibilities across spent fuel, decommissioning and waste management.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Nuclear Decommissioning Authority