Ada Mode expands into the North-West with new Manchester office

Most of its work has been in support of the UK’s civil nuclear sector, covering AI adoption strategy development, refuelling outage optimisation, development of predictive maintenance tools and integrating data-informed programme delivery tools.

New North-West office, led by Mel Willis

In an exciting, recent development, Ada Mode has appointed Mel Willis to lead the development of its new North-West office at Colony Piccadilly in Manchester. Mel brings extensive experience in AI and robotics from across Sellafield and the wider NDA estate, strengthening Ada Mode’s presence in the region and supporting its continued growth across the nuclear sector.

The North-West region is synonymous with nuclear engineering, research and development in the UK, employing thousands of engineers and scientists, and with an extensive and varied regional supply chain. Coupled with several major academic institutions, the region continues to play a key role in the development and deployment of innovative technologies, including a wide range of digital and AI applications.

Having an active role in this regional supply chain ecosystem is a key driver for the expansion into the North-West, with strong prospects for both new work pipelines and fresh collaboration opportunities in the digital engineering discipline.

Ada Mode’s Managing Director, Gareth Jones, commented:

“We are really proud to be an SME within the UK’s nuclear supply chain and, specifically, to be playing a key role in the responsible deployment of digital engineering solutions to help address a range of engineering challenges. Expanding our operations into the North-West region is a logical next step for the business, enabling us to further grow our team and service offering, and to provide solutions for a wider range of clients.

Key to our growth and success has been a fundamental culture of early collaboration with our clients and delivery partners, to characterise problem statements and to identify the most appropriate digital engineering solution. Coupling an engineering mindset and domain expertise with a varied set of data and digital competencies, supported by a comprehensive suite of digital tools, has been a real strength of ours.

Having the capability and flexibility to offer up-front consultative and data science services, right through to in-house development of AI-enabled machine learning and predictive maintenance tools, ensures that we are ready to add value throughout the project lifecycle and for an increasing number of use cases.”

Growth as an SME in the nuclear sector

Ada Mode’s journey started in 2020, founded by five nuclear engineers with a vision for how to unlock optimised plant, system and programme delivery performance by using digital solutions and advanced data analytics. Wind the clock forward six years, and with 20 employees, Ada Mode has been providing engineering-led digital and AI solutions for clients including Sellafield, EDF Energy and Hinkley Point C Project, as well as several clients in the wider energy sector. In many cases, Ada Mode has delivered first-of-a-kind use cases, and have demonstrated value through optimised plant performance, measurable cost and/or energy savings, delivery schedule clarity, and enhanced data insights to inform decision-making.

Of course, gaining market position, establishing new contract routes and building a team hasn’t come without challenges. As is the case for many SMEs, access to client frameworks and key decision-makers has been a focus, as has establishment of strategic collaborations with other supply chain organisations, and ensuring a fantastic delivery service for clients. These actions have enabled Ada Mode to generate value and make an impact for each client across an increasing number of digital engineering use cases, providing a platform for expansion of the team and service offering. Making sure there’s a vibrant and engaging culture across the team, whilst putting staff development and wellbeing front and centre, has also been key to success.

It’s been encouraging to be part of and see the positive impact being made by initiatives such as Wales Nuclear Forum (WNF) and the NIA’s recently established SME Group, in terms of promoting SME opportunities, collaboration and Tier 1 engagement.

How Digital and AI-enabled Technologies are being put to work across the sector

Alongside what the UK Government has referred to as a new “Golden Age” of nuclear development, we have witnessed a sharp rise in the adoption of digital and AI enabled technologies across the nuclear sector and a significant number of organisations have been developing their AI adoption strategy and creating internal capabilities to embrace this and maximise the benefits.

Some great examples of how digital and AI enabled technologies are being used to address a range of engineering challenges across the nuclear sector, include:

• Modelling, Simulation and Analytics – simulating complex and sensitive systems and processes to support design decisions and changes to operational philosophy.
• Digital Operations and Maintenance – developing digital tools to improve operation and maintenance activities, including deployment of predictive maintenance and outage management solutions to support effective long-term asset management.
• AI Adoption and Digital Strategy – supporting regulated organisations with the adoption of AI to drive operational change.
• Large Language Model (LLM) and AI Development – development of custom AI solutions to interrogate large, technical and sensitive documents, and integrate with engineering processes to accelerate system design and development.
• New Build – supporting owners of major civil nuclear projects by developing enterprise data models, digital tools and analytics to accelerate and de-risk major project delivery.

The range of use cases, and the number of digital tools deployed, is only set to increase going forwards. The key is to ensure that these tools are deployed responsibly, securely, efficiently and with full cognisance of nuclear regulatory expectations.

Getting involved: The benefits of NIA membership and industry events

Recognising the importance of engaging with other businesses and keeping up to date on developments and opportunities in the sector, Ada Mode is actively engaged in several NIA’s business groups, including New Building and Existing Generation, Decommissioning and Waste Management, and of course the SME Group. Ada Mode personnel can be found at many other industry events, including those arranged by the Nuclear Institute and in the fusion sector by UKAEA. Notably, Ada Mode will be a Gold sponsor at the Nuclear Institute’s upcoming AI4Nuclear conference being held in October 2026 – the team looks forward to seeing you there.