To undertake this project, Damona took a top to bottom approach, structured as follow:

• Use cases: Understanding the various cases where Am-241 is used and could be used in the future. For each use case, Damona identified the baseline technology – currently used -, the competitive technologies – such as other isotopes, Pu-238 is one when it comes to Radioisotopes Thermal Generators, and direct competitors – Am-241 producers. In addition, key requirements such as purity are reviewed
• Direct competitors: Identification of all Am-241 producers, their current product volume, forecast and a 360-analysis through a SWOT framework
• Transport: Review of all the nuclear transport regulations and applications of the requirement in the case of Am-241
• Pricing: Two way approach to pricing: Value based – through interviews with end users, competition based – through collecting competitors’ prices
• Market sizing: Three markets identified based on the required effort to penetrate those market with a detailed forecast until 2040+
• Value chain: Identification of all the stakeholders within the value chain for each use cases, with a detailed presentation of the key stakeholders and main projects. In addition, application of a matrix presenting the most appealing prospects and the level of effort required
• High go-to-market: Application of Business Model Canvas and high level strategy for each use case
• First steps to industrialisation: Presentation of various frameworks to reach a successful industrialisation

To execute this work, in a niche sector, Damona conducted 25+ interviews of various stakeholders across the entire value chain. Those interviews also identified prospects and RFP that will be released a few months after end of the project.

Date: 20th January 2025

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Damona leveraged its deep expertise and long-standing engagement with the British nuclear sector for this project to provide critical market intelligence and strategic guidance.

Historically, the UK’s nuclear landscape has been heavily shaped by its decommissioning sector. Public investment in new nuclear build significantly declined since the late 1980s, particularly during and after the Thatcher government’s shift toward a market-driven energy policy. The privatisation of the electricity sector, combined with growing public concern after the Chernobyl disaster, discouraged further nuclear expansion. As a result, government funding focused largely on managing and dismantling existing infrastructure, and the domestic supply chain suffered from decades of underinvestment and underutilisation in advanced nuclear development.

However, the landscape is shifting. With the launch of the Great British Nuclear initiative, the UK is reaffirming its commitment to new build and fusion as national priorities. This policy turn is reviving interest in nuclear innovation.

For this project, Damona conducted a comprehensive market analysis and sizing exercise, tailored to the needs of a foreign client. The study included :

• A site-by-site assessment of the UK’s nuclear ecosystem
• Analysis of capabilities and competencies across the domestic supply chain
• Mapping of funding allocations, project timelines, and tender opportunities
• Identification of potential competitors and emerging market entrants
• Beyond mapping opportunities, Damona provided strategic, client-specific advice, aligning opportunities to the client’s technical capabilities and business goals. This included:
• Recommendations on local partnerships to strengthen tender bids
• Alerts on likely competitive pressure and areas of market saturation

Date: 1st of January 2025

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District heating has long played a vital role in Northern and Eastern Europe, where winters are harsher and the demand for reliable space heating is particularly high. In these regions, district heating offers an efficient and dependable solution by delivering heat to households and businesses through a centralised network of insulated pipes. Centralised heating is more energy-efficient and easier to maintain than individual household boilers, especially when scaled across urban areas.

District heating systems vary significantly across Europe. Some networks are compact and localised, while others span large urban areas. The energy mix used to power these systems also differs by country and even by city, including combinations of biomass, fossil fuels, waste heat, geothermal, and increasingly renewables. These unique attributes shape the feasibility of integrating new heat sources, such as nuclear energy or Small Modular Reactors, into existing systems.

This analysis aims to evaluate how Northern and Eastern European countries distribute heat through their district heating networks and to assess the potential for integrating nuclear heat, particularly through SMR technology. Damona’s role in this project was to provide the client with a comprehensive, country-by-country assessment focused on select Nordic and Eastern European nations.

The study covered the following countries:

• Finland
• Denmark
• Sweden
• Norway
• Poland
• Czech Republic

For each district heating network, Damona identified:

• Operator
• Energy mix
• MWh – per type of energy
• Installed MW – per type of energy
• Lengths
• Working temperature
• Expected extensions
• Price

In addition, for each country, Damona reviewed the regulatory framework, driving the expansion of the district heating networks.

This data-driven approach supports informed decision-making on potential partnerships and geographic targets for SMR deployment in district heating networks.

Date: 6th July 2024

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To address these challenges and mitigate associated risks, Damona conducted a thorough analysis of potential market players, concentrating on their technological maturity and readiness for market entry. This comprehensive analysis was instrumental in formulating a tailored go-to-market strategy designed specifically for the firm’s entry into the French SMR market. The strategy emphasized the importance of forming partnerships with established companies that have proven capabilities and resources.

The approach undertaken was the following:

• Presentation of the nuclear landscape
• Review of France 2030, the state financial structure to financially support SMR vendors, including awardees
• Review of the private entities investing in French SMR vendors
• Analysis of the regulatory framework
• Deep dive on each vendor
• Recommendations to approach the SMR vendors in France
• Recommendation to collaborate with the SMR vendors in the UK

In addition, for each vendor, Damona organised meetings with the vendors and the client to identify joint opportunities.

As the demand for innovative and reliable energy solutions grows, the firm’s proactive stance will enable it to navigate the complexities of the SMR market effectively, fostering long-term growth and establishing a strong foothold in the clean energy sector.

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Market Dynamics and Challenges: The analysis faced challenges related to deciphering the complex market dynamics of technology providers and intricate value chain links. As digital transformation in the nuclear sector involves multiple stakeholders, the complexity of relationships and technological integration becomes evident, affecting both implementation and operational scalability.

Implementation Process: The typical implementation process for digital transformation projects aimed at enhancing physical asset management includes:

Gathering stakeholders

• Hiring a Digital Transformation Consultant: This initial step often involves outsourcing logistics and contracting to a consulting team. This team collaborates with the nuclear facility to plan the project scope, timeline, and specific actions.
• Data Gathering: Conducted by a third-party contracted by the consulting teams, this phase includes extensive data collection methods such as laser scanning, point clouds, LiDAR, 3D mapping, heat mapping, and dosimetry.
• Digital Tool Provision: Companies provide digital asset-management solutions that require licensing.
• Adjacent Digital Tool Provision: Often a niche company offers a specific piece of software or technology to integrate with the main asset management solution.

Insights and Strategic Impact: The study’s insights have been instrumental in shaping strategic decisions, highlighting the critical role of digital technologies in enhancing process efficiency and regulatory compliance within the nuclear decommissioning sector. These insights guide the enhancement of service offerings and the formation of strategic partnerships, establishing a foundation for leadership in digital transformation.

Complexities and Decision Making in Specific Markets:

The digital asset management sector’s complexity means that implementing solutions is a significant decision, not taken lightly, especially in countries like Germany where the entire nuclear sector is in a decommissioning phase. Despite the potential for significant cost reductions with technologies like BIM, there is often hesitation to invest in such expensive technologies for projects nearing termination. The British government has endeavored to integrate BIM into legislation for all government-funded construction-related projects.

His Majesty’s Government estimates that the potential savings from implementing digital asset management tools in nuclear decommissioning could be up to 20%, translating to up to 800 million pounds sterling. However, the limited budget allocation of just 2.2% from the NDA’s total critical enabler expenditure of 185 million pounds sterling for digital asset management related projects reflects a cautious approach to such significant investment decisions.

Investigation Insights

So, what are sectorial entities scared off?

Well according to Damona’s internal studies most of the actors of the sector are afraid of 3 main things, the first one is security concerns announced to be an issue in more than 70% of cases, following come integrating systems with ongoing operations and budget constraints with 50% cases declaring these points problematic for the integration of digital asset management tools.

Damona’s Conclusive Insights:

Overall, digital transformation and asset management tools for the nuclear industry are bound to be integrated into the everyday frameworks to reduce the costs of commissioning, maintenance, decommissioning, and generally throughout the whole life cycle of physical assets in the industry. However, the industry needs more convincing, with concerns related to a dead-end investment once decommissioning has ended, and other concerns such as cybersecurity or the effect the integration of such tools could have on ongoing projects.

Uncovering complex paterns,analysis and sizing of niche markets  is part of the key capabilities at Damona, do not hesitate to check out what we do and contact us to discuss your potential challenges.

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Part of this study, Damona did the following activities:

• Short-list of the most relevant countries for the client;
• Deep dive in different sub-sectors: Engineering, Manufacturing, On-site activities;
• Precise market sizing for each country and sub-sector;
• Country overview with current situation and forecast.

The client successfully close their round of investment and is now one of the European’s major software provider in the nuclear sector.

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After defining the value proposition of the company through a set of interviews across the whole management team, Damona provided a comprehensive market study of the French market.

The market study provided the following information:

• History of the French nuclear sector;
• Regulatory aspects with differences compared to the UK approach;
• Key players such as SLC‘s and Tier 1;
• Key sites and associated buildings with their state of operation;
• On-going projects and expected development.

This work, in conjunction with a specific go-to-market strategy developed by Damona, helped the client to assess the required effort to enter the French market.

Consecutively, the client was able to target the right stakeholders with Damona’s team, building a comprehensive strategy and optimising resources.

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