The University of Manchester has been awarded a major grant to lead a new programme that will transform the lifecycle of graphite in nuclear energy – an essential material for the future deployment of nuclear power.
The award brings together world-leading expertise led by The University of Manchester in collaboration with the Universities of Oxford, Plymouth, and Loughborough.
Nuclear energy is expected to play a central role in the UK’s net zero goals as it emits nearly zero carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions – but it comes with challenges.
The five-year ENLIGHT programme (Enabling a Lifecycle Approach to Graphite for Advanced Modular Reactors) will develop critical technologies to support the deployment of next-generation nuclear energy technology and 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.
The project is supported with an £8.2m 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.
The programme of research, collaboration, and skills development aims to secure the UK’s position at the forefront of nuclear innovation and a global leader in advanced reactor technology and clean energy innovation.
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.”
Graphite is a critical component in many next-generation Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs), including High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors and various Molten Salt Reactor designs – technologies key to achieving the UK’s ambition to deliver 24GW of new nuclear power by 2050.
The material accounts for around one-third of reactor build costs, yet despite its importance, the UK currently relies entirely on imports to meet demand.
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.
Dr Greg Black, Senior Advisor at the Environment Agency, said: “The Environment Agency look forward to participating as a partner in the ENLIGHT programme. As the environmental regulator for the nuclear industry in England, we consider the ambitions of the ENLIGHT programme on ‘sustainable graphite’ aligns with our Regulatory and RD&I areas of interest.”
