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The UK is on the verge of building a fleet of new nuclear power stations. The steps required to reach the point where the UK can build Generation III+ plants are a complex mix of energy and financial policy and technology. The issues connect with the fuel cycle, waste disposal and public opinion. Failure in one of these areas could derail the new build programme. Starting in 2011, finishing July 2012, the University of Birmingham led a Policy Commission into the Future of Nuclear Energy in the UK. The Commission has been part of a number of national processes which have influenced and shaped UK policy and thinking in nuclear energy. In 2013 the UK Government published its stance. Recommendations made by the Policy Commission on key topics such as nuclear research capabilities and national nuclear policy bodies are reflected in the Government's report and subsequent actions. Impact has been in terms of public engagement and influencing public policy. Nuclear new build could be an investment of £40bn into the UK economy.
The research carried out by Surrey's Nuclear Physics Group and the expertise of its members have informed and stimulated debate on a wide range of scientific areas via broadcasting, the press, science policy, STEM education, and wider public engagement.
Professor Al-Khalili, in particular, has built on his expertise and experience in theoretical nuclear physics, such as his published research on the properties of exotic halo nuclei, to promote and disseminate many fundamental ideas in quantum mechanics, and physics in general, to the wider public. Through his popular science books, such as Nucleus: A Trip into the Heart of Matter (the only coffee table book on nuclear physics) and Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed, and his numerous television and radio programmes (such as BBC Four's Atom, which is widely seen as having broken new ground in the way science documentaries are presented), he has played a vital part in the resurgence of interest in physics in popular culture and in inspiring the next generation of scientists, impacting millions of people around the world.
Professor Matthew Jones was selected as a Cabinet Office official historian in 2008. His research has provided a historical context and knowledge base for senior Cabinet Office and Ministry of Defence officials currently engaged with strategic nuclear policymaking. Jones' research (including insights into the costs overruns, technical uncertainty, and delay of previous nuclear deterrents) has contributed to the process of policy-making, informing how senior officials responsible for dealing with debates over future options in the strategic nuclear policy field will deploy public expenditure of over £20 billion.
The case study describes the impact on society of research on the history and politics of nuclear weapons and non-proliferation. Specifically, it demonstrates how this research has informed and shaped public understanding, discourse and debate on the nature of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The research underpinning this impact examines the effects of the nuclear revolution upon international politics, and the consequences of these effects upon the contemporary non-proliferation regime. The research identifies a number of negative consequences arising from the activities of the so-called `nuclear non-proliferation complex'. The active dissemination of the research findings has generated considerable media coverage of research claims. In part through this extensive media exposure, the research has impacted, in a distinctive way, discussions over nuclear non-proliferation among a wide range of societal beneficiaries: members of the public, commentators, policy observers concerned with nuclear affairs, and civil society and NGO actors. The impact has been generated both within and outside the UK.
Researchers at the University of Bristol's Interface Analysis Centre played a key role in making it possible to extend the life of two nuclear power stations. Their insights into how the microstructure of reactor-core graphite degrades during service and how the material fractures enabled Magnox Ltd to construct a convincing safety case for Oldbury nuclear power station to operate for an extra four years and Wylfa power station to run for an additional four to six years. In terms of the value of the electricity generated, these extensions are worth some £5 billion. In addition, the longer lifespan of these low-carbon power sources means that less energy has to be generated from other, high-carbon sources, with the environmental benefit of an overall reduction in CO2 emissions.
The University of Huddersfield leads the UK in the development and advocacy of the thorium nuclear fuel cycle as an alternative to the uranium/plutonium cycle. We have set the design parameters for feasible thorium fuelled accelerator driven subcritical reactor assemblies for power generation and waste management and for fertile to fissile conversion of thorium [A]. Our high media profile [G,H] and extensive interactions with the public [I] and policy makers both in the UK and US [B,C,E,F] has led to growing acceptance of thorium as a realistic, safer, cleaner and proliferation resistant alternative fuel for nuclear fission reactors. Consequently our research is now influencing nuclear policy both at home and overseas [D,F].
The research groups of Professor Laurence Harwood and Dr Michael Hudson (now retired) at the University of Reading have developed new and highly selective extractants for spent and reprocessed nuclear fuels. These novel extractants remove specifically the components in nuclear waste that have the highest levels of long-term radioactivity. The extracted components (minor actinides) may subsequently be converted — "transmuted" — into elements with greatly reduced radioactivity. Storage times for high-level nuclear waste can thus be reduced by a factor of a thousand, typically from 300,000 to 300 years. This significant advance in the management of nuclear waste means that next-generation nuclear power production will be safer, more economical and more sustainable, as well as increasing the wider acceptance of nuclear power as a viable alternative to fossil fuels. The newly-developed extractants are now available commercially through TechnoComm Ltd.
The Impacts Assessment Unit (IAU) at Oxford Brookes University has pioneered research on the local socio-economic impacts of major power station projects. Resultant insights have included:
Within the REF period these insights have been deployed in new power station impact research, recently (2011-2013) forming part of the successful EDF (international electricity utility company www.edf.com) application to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) (now National Infrastructure Directorate within the UK Planning Inspectorate (PINS)) to build a new nuclear power station Hinkley Point C (Somerset), plus consultation studies for a new nuclear power station Sizewell C (Suffolk).
Deployment of robust diagnostic techniques developed at the University of Strathclyde has improved the analysis of reactor core data and has directly supported the Safety Case for continued and extended operation of the Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor nuclear power stations in the UK. The new diagnostic techniques have been used on a daily basis since 16/5/2008 (BETA) and 5/3/2009 (IMAPS) in four power stations: 1) providing improved support and confirmation of the manual assessment of reactor core data by graphite engineers; 2) informing and advising power station personnel making strategic decisions on channels requiring inspection during statutory outages, and 3) providing evidence and increased confidence for the monitoring stage of station Safety Cases.