New Strategic Plan will support the UK’s nuclear ambitions

The launch comes at a pivotal moment for the UK nuclear sector. Large-scale reactors are under construction, advanced reactor technologies are progressing towards deployment, demand for sovereign fuel capabilities is increasing, and the country continues to tackle one of the world’s most complex nuclear clean-up programmes. At the same time, civil and defence nuclear programmes are becoming increasingly interconnected, creating new opportunities and challenges for science and technology.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said:

“We are committed to developing the next generation of nuclear power, and UKNNL plays a key role in making these ambitions a reality, working to accelerate the science behind future reactors, keeping systems running safely and securing the UK’s fuel supply.

“This strategic plan will help us take a lead in the industries of the future, powering growth and jobs up and down the country.”

The plan is built around UKNNL’s purpose: nuclear science to benefit society and its overarching mission: to enable and deliver nuclear outcomes for government, and to support growth of the UK nuclear sector. The five Science Missions it introduces will guide research, capability development and investment across the organisation.

• Future Energy: To ensure the next generation of nuclear energy systems are deployed based on scientific evidence and understanding, strengthening the UK’s energy security and its clean energy ambitions, with long-term national prosperity following from both
• Fuel: To ensure that the UK has a secure and sustainable domestic nuclear fuel capability, to power the reactors running today and the ones in the future, as well as create the potential to export to allied nuclear nations
• Fleet Support: To make sure the UK’s nuclear assets are supported by the science, infrastructure, programmes and evidence needed for safe and reliable operation
• Plutonium Science: To enable the safe, secure and sustainable stewardship of the UK’s plutonium inventory and other nationally important nuclear materials
• Environmental Restoration and Health: To reduce the UK’s nuclear liabilities and protect the people and places around them, with science guiding how that work is done, and recovering rare radioisotopes for use in nuclear medicine and space exploration

UKNNL CEO Julianne Antrobus said:

“The UK is on the cusp of a new era for nuclear. Delivering that ambition requires more than policy, investment and industrial capability. It also requires world-class science and a national laboratory capable of providing the evidence, expertise and sovereign capability that government and industry need to make informed decisions and underpin those ambitions.

“Our Strategic Plan sets out how UKNNL will meet that challenge. It defines the areas where we will focus our efforts, the capabilities we will invest in, and how we will support both government and the wider sector to achieve national objectives in energy security, national security and economic growth.

“Above all, this plan is about delivering impact for the nation and ensuring the UK has the scientific foundations it needs to succeed in a rapidly evolving nuclear landscape.”

The plan reflects UKNNL’s increasingly important role as a scientific integrator within the nuclear sector, bringing together government, industry, academia and international partners to address some of the UK’s most complex nuclear challenges. Through its facilities, expertise and independent scientific advice, the laboratory will continue to support safe operations, enable innovation, develop sovereign capabilities and help the UK realise the full benefits of nuclear technology.

UKNNL Chief Science & Technology Officer and Deputy CEO Gareth Headdock said:

“The world around nuclear has changed, with government and industry now having a much clearer view of the role nuclear must play in the UK’s future. Our new Strategic Plan reflects that clarity, setting out how UKNNL will deliver impact through our five Science Missions.

“These missions are five clear reasons why everyone at UKNNL gets up in the morning, and five clear reasons why the UK should be glad we do. Together, they focus our science and technology on some of the UK’s most important priorities, from supporting new nuclear technologies and strengthening fuel resilience to stewarding plutonium, sustaining critical nuclear assets, and tackling the challenges of environmental restoration.

“The plan provides a clear route from purpose to delivery, backed by the expertise of our people and the specialist capabilities we’ve built over decades. It sets out how we will turn scientific excellence into practical outcomes that support the UK’s prosperity, security and net zero ambitions.”

Alongside the five Science Missions, the Strategic Plan sets out how UKNNL will strengthen the capabilities that underpin its work on some of the country’s most strategic nuclear activity.  This includes continued investment across its four research centres: the Active Handling Centre at Windscale, Nuclear Materials Research Centre at Sellafield, Uranium Research Centre at Preston, and Nuclear Technology Development Centre at Workington, as well as its three professional hubs at Warrington, Stonehouse and Culham.

The organisation will also re-invest in Laboratory Directed Research over the life of the plan to develop future capabilities, strengthen expertise and support long-term national priorities.

The plan also outlines UKNNL’s longer-term transformation ambition: Becoming the “Lab of the Future” – a digitally connected, highly collaborative and nationally focused laboratory equipped to support future nuclear technologies, develop the next generation of nuclear leaders and releasing greater value for society through the science it delivers.

Read it here: www.uknnl.com/about/strategic-plan