The University of Manchester has been awarded £13 million to lead a programme that seeks to transform the lifecycle of graphite in nuclear energy.
Graphite is an essential material for the future deployment of nuclear power, to be used in many next-generation advanced modular reactors (AMRs), including high temperature gas-cooled reactors and various molten salt reactor designs.
According to the university, the material accounts for around one-third of reactor build costs, however, the UK currently relies entirely on imports to meet demand.
The five-year ENLIGHT (Enabling a Lifecycle Approach to Graphite for Advanced Modular Reactors) programme, in collaboration with the Universities of Oxford, Plymouth and Loughborough, will develop critical technologies to support next-gen nuclear energy technology deployment.
It will address two of the UK’s most pressing nuclear challenges – securing a sustainable, sovereign supply of nuclear graphite and finding solutions to manage the country’s growing volume of irradiated graphite waste.
With the existing Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor fleet approaching decommissioning by 2028 and more than 100,000 tonnes of irradiated graphite already in storage, ENLIGHT will pioneer new approaches to both recycling legacy material and producing new, sustainable high-performance graphite suitable for future AMRs.
The project will support the UK’s ambition to deliver 24GW of new nuclear power by 2050.
Principle Investigator Professor Abbie Jones, Chair in Nuclear Graphite at The University of Manchester, said: “Nuclear graphite plays a vital role in the safety and efficiency of advanced reactors, yet the UK currently relies on overseas suppliers for this material.
“ENLIGHT will lay the foundation to reestablish UK-based graphite supply chain while developing sustainable solutions to recycle and reuse irradiated graphite – transforming a growing waste stream into a valuable resource. This programme will reduce waste, strengthen energy security and support the country’s net zero ambitions.”
The project is supported with an £8.2 million grant from UK Research and Innovation’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Higher Education Institutions and around £5m of contributions from industry partners.
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