UK nuclear researchers currently have no way to handle and analyse genuinely radioactive materials in their own labs, forcing them to work with non-radioactive stand-ins or send samples abroad. This matters because the UK’s academic nuclear fission research has grown from near zero a decade ago to a current portfolio of about £38 million, yet the only facility available for work on highly radioactive materials—the National Nuclear Laboratory’s Central Laboratory—is geared toward industrial development, not the detailed characterisation that fundamental research requires. Without proper equipment, UK scientists cannot study how real nuclear materials behave under reactor conditions, how they corrode, or how they release fission products. Competitors in other countries now have such facilities, and work based on simulants is increasingly seen as falling below normal quality standards. The proposed core equipment base—specialising in spectroscopy and electron optics—would sit inside the Central Laboratory and give UK academics access to state-of-the-art analysis tools for the first time. If established, it would underpin research across all of the UK’s priority nuclear themes, from waste management to new reactor designs, and help train the next generation of nuclear scientists. The project is applied fundamental science: it does not promise a consumer product, but without it, credible UK nuclear research cannot happen.
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Academic nuclear fission research has increased over the last ten years from a base of around zero to a current portfolio about 38M (typically 8-9M/annum). Both industry and the extensive UK university network involved in nuclear research have stressed the importance of research using authentic, and thus by definition highly radioactive, materials. While a few UK universities routinely use small quantities of radioactive materials in their own laboratories, the only facility in the UK that could be accessed by university researchers for work on highly radioactive materials is the NNL's Central Laboratory.Due to the absence of suitable facilities and equipment, any nuclear research carried out by UK academia is restricted either to simulants or to limited programmes carried out overseas. While the quality of science is good within these constraints, all overseas competitors now have access to specialised facilities in national laboratories and work based on simulants is increasingly seen as falling below the normal quality benchmark. Any credible UK research programme must therefore have at its foundation the ability to work with and characterise highly radioactive samples. The UK also faces major R&D and skills challenges in many areas of nuclear science and technology, which can only be met by a concerted, cross-disciplinary, cross-institutional programme of research and training built around close collaboration between industry, regulators and academia. This programme must be underpinned by facilities not just for the preparation of highly radioactive samples, but also for their characterisation. Since Central Laboratory is presently geared towards industrially driven development in which characterisation is a lesser priority, its capability in this area needs to be significantly enhanced. The provision of state-of-the-art analysis and characterisation facilities will therefore support research across all of the UK's priority nuclear research themes, and thus benefit the entire nuclear academic sector. We therefore propose to establish a core equipment base could be established in the National Nuclear Laboratory's Central Laboratory. This would be unique in the UK and facilitate world class fundamental research. Priority areas are spectroscopy and electron optics
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