National Nuclear User Facility Phase 2: Management Grant

The UK is installing new national facilities to handle radioactive materials, from university labs to national laboratories, to keep its nuclear expertise alive. This matters because the UK’s existing nuclear reactors are ageing, new ones are being planned, and waste storage needs will last for decades. Without dedicated facilities to study radioactive samples, the country cannot safely extend plant lifetimes, decommission old sites, or design advanced modular reactors. The management grant specifically funds an access scheme so that researchers across the UK can actually use these new tools—otherwise, expensive equipment might sit idle. If this succeeds, the UK will have a trained workforce and world-class labs capable of analysing radioactive materials. That directly supports keeping current nuclear plants running longer, safely dismantling old ones, and building next-generation reactors. It also helps shape the regulatory environment, ensuring safety rules are based on real data. Most people never see a nuclear facility, but the electricity they rely on, the waste stored underground, and the decommissioning of old sites all depend on this kind of fundamental capability.