The University of Manchester has secured funding to lead a five-year initiative aimed at transforming the graphite lifecycle in nuclear reactors, cutting waste, and building a domestic supply chain.

The project, ENLIGHT (Enabling a Lifecycle Approach to Graphite for Advanced Modular Reactors), brings together researchers from Manchester, Oxford, Plymouth, and Loughborough universities. Backed by $11.04 million (£8.2 million) from UK Research and Innovation’s EPSRC, plus $6.7 million (£5 million) from industry partners, ENLIGHT will develop technologies essential for deploying next-generation nuclear energy in the UK.

Figure 1. Nuclear Reactor Graphite.

Graphite is a critical component in advanced modular reactors, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and molten salt reactors, accounting for roughly one-third of build costs. Yet the UK currently relies on imports, even as it faces over 100,000 tonnes of irradiated graphite waste from its soon-to-be-retired advanced gas-cooled reactor fleet.

ENLIGHT aims to tackle both challenges — creating new graphite materials that can withstand extreme reactor conditions, and recycling irradiated graphite for reuse [1]. This could save the UK up to $2.69 billion (£2 billion) in future waste management costs, while strengthening energy security and supporting the national goal of 24 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2050. Figure 1 shows Nuclear Reactor Graphite.

“Nuclear graphite is vital for the safety and efficiency of advanced reactors, yet we depend on overseas suppliers,” said Professor Abbie Jones, ENLIGHT’s principal investigator. “We aim to turn a growing waste stream into a valuable resource, reduce waste, and support the UK’s net zero ambitions.”

The program will also train the next generation of graphite scientists and engineers. Oxford will lead graphite selection and design, while Loughborough will apply advanced computational modelling to study graphite behaviour under extreme conditions.

References:

1. https://interestingengineering.com/energy/uk-nuclear-reactor-graphite-program

Cite this article:

Keerthana S (2025), UK to Produce Nuclear Reactor Graphite from Recycled Materials to Reduce Waste, AnaTechMaz, pp.250