REFINE: A coordinated materials programme for the sustainable REduction of spent Fuel vital In a closed loop Nuclear Energy cycle

Nuclear fission is currently internationally recognised as a key low carbon energy source, vital in the fight against global warming, which has stimulated much interest and recent investment. For example, RCUK's energy programme has identified nuclear fission as an essential part of the "trinity" of future fuel options for the UK, alongside renewables and clean coal. However, nuclear energy is controversial, with heartfelt opinion both for and against, and there is a real requirement to make it cleaner and greener. Large international programmes of work are needed to deliver safe, reliable, economic and sustainable nuclear energy on the scale required in both the short and long term, through Gen III+ & Gen IV reactor systems. A pressing worldwide need is the development of specific spent fuel reprocessing technology suitable for these new reactors (as well as for dealing with legacy waste fuel from old reactors).

The REFINE programme will assemble a multidisciplinary team across five partner universities and NNL, the UK's national nuclear laboratory to address this fuel reprocessing issue. The consortium will carry out a materials research programme to deliver fuel reprocessing by developing materials electrosynthesis through direct oxide reduction and selective electrodissolution and electroplating from molten salt systems. Developing, optimising and controlling these processes will provide methods for, and a fundamental understanding of, how best to reprocess nuclear fuel. This is in addition to the development of techniques for new molten salt systems, new sensing and analysis technologies and the establishment of the kinetics and mechanisms by which molten salt processes occur. This will facilitate rapid process development and optimization, as well as the generation of applications in related areas.

A key output of the programme will be the training and development of the multidisciplinary UK researchers required to make possible clean nuclear energy and generate complementary scientific and technological breakthroughs.

Nuclear energy is a vital worldwide low carbon energy source in the fight against global warming. The development of a sustainable nuclear fuel refinement process is therefore essential in closing the nuclear energy cycle, enabling the regeneration of nuclear fuel by the most clean, economic and resource efficient means with minimal waste. Electrochemical molten salt (MS) refinement methods, currently researched worldwide, offer a potential solution, but still with real unsolved materials challenges. REFINE will harness the original, unique and complementary academic expertise in the UK in partnership with NNL, the UK government nuclear laboratory with world-leading expertise and infrastructure in nuclear processing research, to address the challenges of delivering the fundamental measurements and systems research which will enable viable MS reprocessing, the training and personnel essential to establish, deliver and underpin the resultant technologies, and the development of the analytical and monitoring tools to control and interrogate molten salt systems. Within this context, the NNL will provide the expertise and facilities to deliver fundamental research on materials of construction, training, skills development and knowledge dissemination, sharing of knowledge and experience and experimental and protocol development, as well as offering up access to a modern and unique set of inactive and radioactive molten salt facilities.

This is clearly a multidisciplinary activity, requiring the creation of both a multi- and cross- institutional programme in which there will be shared best practice, partnered systems development, and common application of developed technologies and processes. Each of the partner Universities will greatly benefit from this approach through enhanced international standing, newly forged interdisciplinary links and enhanced prospects for future industrial and academic funding, as well as added value to their share of IP generation. The academic staff and students will gain access to NNL's state-of-the-art nuclear know-how, skills and facilities whilst NNL will gain access to an integrated team of academics focussed on addressing the challenges of molten salt nuclear materials production, as well as access to the major output of highly skilled postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers best able to provide a future, expert workforce in MS and other nuclear processing. The UK will benefit from the timely revitalisation of MS expertise, the creation of novel IP suitable for worldwide exploitation in this area, and the establishment of a UK research programme of real critical mass and international visibility, able to take the lead in future international research programmes.

The programme will also benefit society through public outreach communication and policy development. Nuclear energy is controversial, with heartfelt opinion both for and against. A major issue is the nature and amount of nuclear waste, especially of the legacy materials from early nuclear reactors. This programme aims to address this issue by developing processes which at least markedly reduce and potentially remove this issue, ideally by using clean electricity as the power source. Such a development would lead to clean (or nearly-clean) nuclear power, which would be expected to have a major impact on public attitudes to nuclear power and on nuclear policy in the UK and worldwide. This is a nuclear good news story to be enthusiastically communicated.