---
title: "Provision of the Nuclear Innovation and Research Office (NIRO)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-058faf"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-058faf"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-058faf.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-058faf.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY SECURITY & NET ZERO"
published: "2025-09-01"
---

# Provision of the Nuclear Innovation and Research Office (NIRO)

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY SECURITY & NET ZERO  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-058faf

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## Summary

The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero has completed a direct award contract titled "Provision of the Nuclear Innovation and Research Office (NIRO)" to the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory Ltd. The process falls under the services category, focusing on research and development consultancy. The contract aims to deliver strategic and technical advice on nuclear energy to support the UK's low carbon and secure energy aspirations. This award, valued at £1.9 million net, extends from 1st September 2025 to 31st March 2026 and operates primarily in the UK. The contract was signed on 5th August 2025, with the award process conforming to the legal framework laid out by the UK Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

This contract presents opportunities for large research and technical consultancy firms, especially those familiar with government projects related to energy security and nuclear research. The work involves providing strategic advice to the government, indicating that businesses with a strong reputation and technical expertise in nuclear innovation would benefit from leveraging such contracts to establish themselves as key contributors in the burgeoning UK nuclear sector. As a single tender action, this award emphasizes the importance of building a solid professional rapport with public authorities to qualify for direct award situations.

## Notice

NIRO provides independent strategic and technical advice to Government that will de-risk investment, inform policy, and enable maximum value for money to the UK taxpayer. NIRO works in partnership with NIRAB to advise on the research and innovation needed for nuclear energy to play a significant role in the UK's future low carbon and secure energy mix while creating the environment for UK nuclear industry to contribute significantly to our economy.

### Procurement Information

We would therefore like to relet this contract as a Single Tender Action, for the following reasons: * NIRO has built up a strong reputation amongst end users in DESNZ - people now understand the service and what it offers, and trust NIRO to deliver. It is also respected by the wider nuclear industry as an objective party who can convene groups with different views to encourage collaboration. * NIRO has recruited a strong team of experts. NNL will need to end the secondments of these people when the contract comes to an end in March, if we do not have certainty about the next contract. DESNZ and NNL would lose credibility with industry partners. * NNL provide the service at cost - they do not charge profit but reclaim a proportion of their overhead costs for hosting the office (IT, central support costs etc). NNL's salary remit is approved by DESNZ Ministers in line with Cabinet Office controls. * Much of what NIRO delivers is related to security / classified issues (e.g work relating to plutonium). Several team members are DV cleared and NNL IT can process sensitive nuclear information. NIRO advise on policy in development when requirements can be unclear and can't be released publicly. * We have a seat on the NNL Board, and DESNZ Ministers approve NNL's salary remit - so we have good oversight of costs, and levers of influence. Both organisations have a desire to make this contract a success on a collaborative basis - we would not have the same levers with a member of the supply chain. * We have developed a set of ethical barriers with NNL to give assurance that NIRO is separate from NNL's commercial operations. This was audited recently and practices found to be strong. Of 10 Findings, six were found to be green, and four amber with recommendations for strengthening practices. The recommendations have all been acted upon. * We consider that competition is absent for technical reasons and that there is therefore a case for relying on the exemption under regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (competition is absent for technical reasons).

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052871-2025 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 1 Sep 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 4 Aug 2025 |
| Contract period | 31 Aug 2025 - 31 Mar 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £1,900,000 |
| Contracts value | £1,900,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY SECURITY & NET ZERO |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1A 2HP |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | UNITED KINGDOM NATIONAL NUCLEAR LABORATORY |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 1 Sep 2025 at 14:10 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052871-2025
- 1 Sep 2025 at 10:08 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052727-2025
- 28 Aug 2025 at 15:10 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052135-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052871-2025
  1st September 2025 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052727-2025
  1st September 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/052135-2025
  28th August 2025 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-058faf. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-058faf.json.