Sir Henry Royce Institute - UKAEA Equipment

The UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Materials Research Facility (MRF) is installing new equipment to handle and test radioactive materials that are too hazardous for standard university labs but not dangerous enough to require a licensed nuclear site. This investment fills a critical gap: university researchers and industry partners currently lack a shared, accessible space to examine irradiated materials—such as reactor components or fusion vessel walls—after they have been exposed to neutron bombardment. Without this facility, scientists cannot study how these materials degrade over time, which limits the UK’s ability to design safer, longer-lasting nuclear reactors or fusion energy systems. If successful, the MRF will allow researchers to perform mechanical and thermo-physical tests on radioactive samples inside shielded “hot cells,” using equipment adapted for remote handling. This could accelerate the development of materials that withstand extreme heat and radiation, directly supporting the UK’s nuclear energy infrastructure and fusion research programmes. The investments, guided by a 2015 user workshop with universities and industry, are part of the broader Sir Henry Royce Institute initiative and the National Nuclear User Facility. The project is applied and infrastructure-focused—it does not pursue fundamental science, but enables the practical testing needed to make nuclear energy safer and more viable.