Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: Addressing nuclear fission challenges for a prosperous future

Apply for funding for academic research addressing UK nuclear fission priorities. This is a strategic opportunity inviting large multidisciplinary consortia to adopt a whole-systems approach, integrating reactor design, fuel cycles, decommissioning, waste management, materials science, modelling, and socio-economic impacts to inform policy, provide impact and drive innovation. Consortia can have a focus area as well as an impact plan.

You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for EPSRC funding.

The full economic cost (FEC) of your project can be up to £8.5 million. EPSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

Projects can last up to five years.

Who can apply

To lead a project, you must be based at an eligible organisation. Check if your organisation is eligible.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) standard eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit EPSRC’s eligibility page.

Resubmissions

We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) or any other funder.

Find out more about EPSRC’s resubmissions policy.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.

We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:

  • career breaks
  • support for people with caring responsibilities
  • flexible working
  • alternative working patterns

UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.

What we're looking for

Scope

With the UK’s recent commitment to nuclear power along with the UK Government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower (Make Britain a Clean Energy Superpower) research is needed to reach these targets and ambitions.

The UK aims to ramp up its nuclear capacity to up to 24GW by 2050 while also strengthening energy security. This will require a significant amount of resource and also needs to be underpinned by research.

Furthermore, with generation IV reactors being considered, greater understanding into next generation material and reactors is needed, along with updated and optimised fuel cycles.

In addition to this there are still large-scale challenges with the UK’s legacy estate. With research needed in advanced decommissioning technologies for both future and legacy waste and infrastructure. This research programme can play a significant part in shaping a positive future for nuclear energy.

This programme aims to support high-quality, multidisciplinary research that addresses the current and future challenges, priorities, and opportunities. This funding will directly deliver against the Clean Energy Superpower mission and the 24GW by 2050 target set by the UK government.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) recently convened the academic and industrial nuclear sectors at a workshop to help understand and develop the research needs and priorities, as well as industries challenges and opportunities. This workshop helped to develop a list of priority topics and research areas EPSRC could target with managed funding. These topics are underpinned by the discussions and advice provided by the community at the EPSRC nuclear priorities workshop.

These topic areas are:

  • fuel cycle development
  • generation IV reactor technologies and materials research
  • advanced decommissioning technologies

Within these research topics there are sub-themes that could be of consideration but are not limited to the following.

Generation IV reactor technologies and materials research

Areas for consideration are:

  • materials modelling, performance and damage
  • materials for molten salt and gas-cooled systems
  • advanced modular reactor and high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) concepts, design, feasibility and performance
  • thermal-hydraulics and safety systems
  • routes to decommissioning

Fuel cycle development

This area needs to consider holistic development of novel or existing fuels, looking across the whole lifecycle from design through to final decommissioning/disposal. Applications for this topic will only be considered if all stages of the fuel cycle are included.

Advanced decommissioning technologies

The following areas should be focused on:

  • novel or optimised waste treatment, packaging and storage
  • next generation waste treatment
  • advanced waste characterisation technologies
  • digital tools and predictive modelling

Application information

This funding opportunity seeks proposals that adopt a whole-systems perspective across the nuclear fission lifecycle. Projects must demonstrate the ability to span all three priority topic areas but can have a primary focus on one.

Proposals must be delivered by large, multidisciplinary consortia whose collective expertise covers every stage of the projects’ chosen topic areas. Single institution applications will not be considered.

EPSRC will not consider proposals that only look across one topic.

Funded consortia will have different focus areas.

Duration

The duration of this award is up to five years.

Funding available

The FEC of your project can be up to £8.5 million.

EPSRC will fund 80% of the FEC.

What we will fund

EPSRC will fund the following:

  • staff costs
  • equipment (up to £400,000 per item)
  • other items required to carry out the project
  • costs related to impact
  • travel and subsistence

Quotes for equipment do not need to be included in your application, but please retain quotes for equipment costing more than £138,000 as we may ask for these at post-panel stage before releasing funds.

Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I)

UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.

As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.

See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.

How to apply

We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.

The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.

Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI.

To apply

Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.

  1. Confirm you are the project lead.
  2. Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password. If your organisation is not listed, email support@funding-service.ukri.org
    Please allow at least 10 working days for your organisation to be added to the Funding Service. We strongly suggest that if you are asking UKRI to add your organisation to the Funding Service to enable you to apply to this Opportunity, you also create an organisation Administration Account. This will be needed to allow the acceptance and management of any grant that might be offered to you.
  3. Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
  4. Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
  5. Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
  6. Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.

Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.

When including images, you must:

  • provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit).
  • insert each new image onto a new line.
  • use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format.

Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application may be rejected if you include:

  • sentences or paragraphs of text
  • tables
  • excessive quantities of images

A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.

For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:

References

References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.

Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:

  • references are easily identifiable by the assessors
  • references are formatted as appropriate to your research
  • persistent identifiers are used where possible

General use of hyperlinks

Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.

For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment. 

Match funding

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) welcomes project partner contributions within this opportunity. Project partners role within this funding opportunity is to provide a pathway to impact via matched funding or in-kind support to an application. EPSRC would like for any application to consider where the impact of their proposed work lies and engage with potential partners who compliment the work and also provides a route to impact. There is no match funding requirement, EPSRC is however looking for the most impactful research.

Deadline

EPSRC must receive your application by 15 January 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.

You will not be able to apply after this time.

Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.

Following the submission of your application to the funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and applications will not be returned for amendment. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected. If an application is withdrawn prior to peer review or office rejected due to substantive errors in the application, it cannot be resubmitted to the opportunity.

Personal data

Processing personal data

EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will need to collect some personal information to manage your Funding Service account and the registration of your funding applications.

We will handle personal data in line with UK data protection legislation and manage it securely. For more information, including how to exercise your rights, read our privacy notice.

Sensitive information

If you or a core team member need to tell us something you wish to remain confidential, email TFSchangeEPSRC@epsrc.ukri.org

Include in the subject line: [the funding opportunity title; sensitive information; your Funding Service application number].

Typical examples of confidential information include:

  • individual is unavailable until a certain date (for example due to parental leave)
  • declaration of interest
  • additional information about eligibility to apply that would not be appropriately shared in the ‘Applicant and team capability’ section
  • conflict of interest for UKRI to consider in reviewer or panel participant selection
  • the application is an invited resubmission

For information about how UKRI handles personal data, read UKRI’s privacy notice.

Institutional matched funding

There is no requirement for matched funding from the institution(s) hosting the project lead, project co-leads or other staff employed on the application, beyond any 20% FEC contribution. UKRI advises reviewers and panel members not to consider the level of matched host institution funding as a factor on which to base funding recommendations. Any project partners are expected to contribute to the project, either with cash or in-kind contributions.

Publication of outcomes

EPSRC, as part of UKRI, will publish the outcomes of this funding opportunity at EPSRC Funding Applications Outcomes

If your application is successful, we will publish some personal information on the UKRI Gateway to Research.

Summary

Word limit: 550

In plain English, provide a summary we can use to identify the most suitable experts to assess your application.

We usually make this summary publicly available on external-facing websites, therefore do not include any confidential or sensitive information. Make it suitable for a variety of readers, for example:

  • opinion-formers
  • policymakers
  • the public
  • the wider research community

Clearly describe your proposed work in terms of:

  • context
  • the challenge the project addresses
  • aims and objectives
  • potential applications and benefits

Core team

List the key members of your team and assign them roles from the following:

  • project lead (PL)
  • project co-lead (UK) (PcL)
  • project co-lead (international) (PcL (I))
  • specialist
  • grant manager
  • professional enabling staff
  • research and innovation associate
  • technician
  • visiting researcher
  • researcher co-lead (RcL)

Only list one individual as project lead.

UKRI has introduced a new addition to the ‘Specialist’ role type. Public contributors such as people with lived experience can now be added to an application.

Find out more about UKRI’s core team roles in funding applications.

Application questions

Vision and Approach

Create a document that includes your responses to all criteria. The document should not be more than 20 sides of A4, single spaced in paper in 11-point Arial (or equivalent sans serif font) with margins of at least 2cm. You may include images, graphs, tables. You can have an additional page for a diagrammatic workplan.

For the file name, use the unique Funding Service number the system gives you when you create an application, followed by the words ‘Vision and Approach’.

Save this document as a single PDF file, no bigger than 8MB. Unless specifically requested, please do not include any sensitive personal data within the attachment.

If the attachment does not meet these requirements, the application will be rejected.

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply.

What are you hoping to achieve with and how will you deliver your proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

For the Vision, explain how your proposed work:

  • is of excellent quality and importance within or beyond the field(s) or area(s)
  • is effective and appropriate to address multiple of the priority areas/topics as well as cutting across the topic areas.
  • has the potential to advance current understanding, generates new knowledge, thinking or discovery within or beyond the field or area
  • is timely given current trends, context and needs
  • impacts world-leading research, society, the economy or the environment

For the Approach, explain how you have designed your work so that it:

  • is effective and appropriate to achieve your objectives
  • is feasible, and comprehensively identifies any risks to delivery and how they will be managed
  • if applicable, uses a clear and transparent methodology
  • if applicable, summarises the previous work and describes how this will be built upon and progressed
  • will maximise translation of outputs into outcomes and impacts
  • describes how your, and if applicable your team’s, research environment (in terms of the place, and relevance to the project) will contribute to the success of the work

References may be included within this section.

Applicant and team capability to deliver

Word limit: 2,200

Why are you the right individual or team to successfully deliver the proposed work?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Evidence of how you, and if relevant your team, have:

  • the relevant experience (appropriate to career stage) to deliver the proposed work
  • the right balance of skills and expertise to cover the proposed work
  • the appropriate leadership and management skills to deliver the work and your approach to develop others
  • contributed to developing a positive research environment and wider community

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

The word count for this section is 1,650 words: 1,150 words to be used for R4RI modules (including references) and, if necessary, a further 500 words for Additions.

Use the Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI) format to showcase the range of relevant skills you and, if relevant, your team (project and project co-leads, researchers, technicians, specialists, partners and so on) have and how this will help deliver the proposed work. You can include individuals’ specific achievements but only choose past contributions that best evidence their ability to deliver this work.

Complete this section using the R4RI module headings listed. Use each heading once and include a response for the whole team, see the UKRI guidance on R4RI. You should consider how to balance your answer, and emphasise where appropriate the key skills each team member brings:

  • contributions to the generation of new ideas, tools, methodologies, or knowledge
  • the development of others and maintenance of effective working relationships
  • contributions to the wider research and innovation community
  • contributions to broader research or innovation users and audiences and towards wider societal benefit
Additions

Provide any further details relevant to your application. This section is optional and can be up to 500 words. You should not use it to describe additional skills, experiences, or outputs, but you can use it to describe any factors that provide context for the rest of your R4RI (for example, details of career breaks if you wish to disclose them).

Complete this as a narrative. Do not format it like a CV.

References may be included within this section.

The roles in funding applications policy has descriptions of the different project roles.

Project partners

Add details about any project partners’ contributions. If there are no project partners, you can indicate this on the Funding Service.

A project partner is a collaborating organisation who will have an integral role in the proposed research. This may include direct contributions for example cash, donated equipment and resources, or staff seconded to the project, or indirect and in-kind contributions for example use of project partner’s equipment, datasets, or facilities. Project partners may be in industry, academia, third sector or government organisations in the UK or overseas, including partners based in the EU.

Add the following project partner details:

  • the organisation name and address (searchable via a drop-down list or enter the organisation’s details manually, as applicable)
  • the project partner contact name and email address
  • the type of contribution (direct or indirect) and its monetary value

If a detail is entered incorrectly and you have saved the entry, remove the specific project partner record and re-add it with the correct information.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Project partners: letters (or emails) of support

Upload a single PDF containing the letters or emails of support from each partner you named in the Project Partner section. These should be uploaded in English or Welsh only.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Enter the words ‘attachment supplied’ in the text box, or if you do not have any project partners enter ‘N/A’.  Each letter or email you provide should:

  • confirm the partner’s commitment to the project
  • clearly explain the value, relevance, and possible benefits of the work to them
  • describe any additional value that they bring to the project
  • the page limit is two sides A4 per partner

The Funding Service will provide document upload details when you apply. If you do not have any project partners, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Ensure you have prior agreement from project partners so that, if you are offered funding, they will support your project as indicated in the Project partners’ section.

For audit purposes, UKRI requires formal collaboration agreements to be put in place if an award is made.

Do not provide letters of support from host and project co-leads’ research organisations.

Facilities

Word limit: 250

Does your proposed research require the support and use of a facility?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

If you will need to use a facility, follow your proposed facility’s normal access request procedures. Ensure you have prior agreement so that if you are offered funding, they will support the use of their facility on your project.

For each requested facility you will need to provide the:

  • name of facility, copied and pasted from the facility information list (DOCX, 42KB)
  • proposed usage or costs, or costs per unit where indicated on the facility information list
  • confirmation you have their agreement where required

Facilities should only be named if they are on the facility information list above.

If you will not need to use a facility, you will be able to indicate this in the Funding Service.

Resources and cost justification

Word limit: 2,000

What will you need to deliver your proposed work and how much will it cost?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Justify the application’s more costly resources, in particular:

  • project staff
  • significant travel for field work or collaboration (but not regular travel between collaborating organisations or to conferences)
  • any equipment that will cost more than £25,000
  • any consumables beyond typical requirements, or that are required in exceptional quantities
  • all facilities and infrastructure costs
  • all resources that have been costed as ‘Exceptions’

You can request costs associated with reasonable adjustments where they increase as a direct result of working on the project. For further information see Disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders.

Assessors are not looking for detailed costs or a line-by-line breakdown of all project resources. Overall, they want you to demonstrate how the resources you anticipate needing for your proposed work:

  • are comprehensive, appropriate, and justified
  • represent the optimal use of resources to achieve the intended outcomes
  • maximise potential outcomes and impacts

Management strategy

Word limit: 1,000

What is your strategy for managing and monitoring your grant?

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Assessors will expect your response to demonstrate the following:

  • seeking external advice, including plans for any independent advisory boards
  • monitoring resources
  • monitoring project progress
  • management of strategy
  • management of risk

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Word limit: 500

What are the ethical or RRI implications and issues relating to the proposed work? If you do not think that the proposed work raises any ethical or RRI issues, explain why.

What the assessors are looking for in your response

Demonstrate that you have identified and evaluated:

  • the relevant ethical or responsible research and innovation considerations
  • how you will manage these considerations

You may demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant. Further details are provided in the Funding Service.

Additional sub-questions (to be answered only if appropriate) will be included in the Funding Service. These will ask about numbers, species and strain and justification about:

  • genetic and biological risk
  • research involving the use of animals
  • conducting research with animal overseas
  • research involving human participation
  • research involving human tissues or biological samples

How we will assess your application

Assessment process

We will assess your application using the following process.

Expert review

We will invite experts to review your application independently, against the specified criteria for this funding opportunity.

You will not be able to nominate reviewers for applications on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service. Research councils will continue to select expert reviewers.

Shortlisting

We will review the comments and scores for each application. Applications that receive sufficiently supportive reviews will be put forward to the interview panel.

If your application is taken forward to an interview panel, you will have 14 days to respond to reviewers’ comments.

Interview

For shortlisted applications, an expert interview panel will conduct interviews with applicants after which the panel will make a funding recommendation.

We expect interviews to be held around March 2026.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will make the final funding decision.

Principles of assessment

We support the San Francisco declaration on research assessment and recognise the relationship between research assessment and research integrity.

Find out about the UKRI principles of assessment and decision making.

Using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in expert review

Reviewers and panellists are not permitted to use generative AI tools to develop their assessment. Using these tools can potentially compromise the confidentiality of the ideas that applicants have entrusted to UKRI to safeguard.

For more detail see our policy on the use of generative AI.

We reserve the right to modify the assessment process as needed.

Assessment areas

The assessment areas we will use are:

  • vision and approach
  • applicant and team capability to deliver
  • project partners: letters (or emails) of support
  • facilities
  • resources and cost justification
  • management strategy
  • ethics and responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Find details of assessment questions and criteria under the ‘Application questions’ heading in the ‘How to apply’ section.

Contact details

Get help with your application

If you have a question and the answers aren’t provided on this page

The Helpdesk is committed to helping users of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service as effectively and as quickly as possible. In order to manage cases at peak volume times, the Helpdesk will triage and prioritise those queries with an imminent opportunity deadline or a technical issue. Enquiries raised where information is available on the Funding finder opportunity page and should be understood early in the application process (for example, regarding eligibility or content/remit of an opportunity) will not constitute a priority case and will be addressed as soon as possible.

Contact details

For help and advice on costings and writing your proposal please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.

For questions related to this specific funding opportunity please contact Ethan.Tull@epsrc.ukri.org or energyanddecarbonisation@epsrc.ukri.org

Any queries regarding the system or the submission of applications through the Funding Service should be directed to the helpdesk.

Email: support@funding-service.ukri.org

Phone: 01793 547490

Our phone lines are open:

  • Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5:00pm
  • Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm

To help us process queries quicker, we request that users highlight the council and opportunity name in the subject title of their email query, include the application reference number, and refrain from contacting more than one mailbox at a time.

For further information on submitting an application read How applicants use the Funding Service.

Additional info

Background

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) recently conducted a workshop with members of the nuclear community from both academia and industry, to help identify key research priorities and challenges within the sector. This information helped to shape EPSRC forward priorities within the clean energy space. The outputs from the workshop have been used to help develop this funding opportunity and specifically the topic areas EPSRC would like to focus investment.

The summary from this workshop can be found below highlighting the key points and outputs from EPSRCs fission priorities workshop.

Workshop key priorities summary

Fuel lifecycle

Workshop attendees indicated the need for a comprehensive fuel-cycle programme, spanning from front-end design through irradiation, reprocessing, interim storage, decommissioning and final disposal. Attendees highlighted that there was a need to integrate life-cycle assessment tools and predictive modelling as well as digital twins into any fuel cycle research programme.

Graphite Research Programme

Attendees expressed the need to understand graphite’s high-dose behaviour, microstructural evolution and radionuclide inventory, as they remain poorly characterised. Graphite underpins both legacy Magnox reactors and next-generation high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), advanced modular reactors (AMR) and small modular reactor (SMR) designs. A major programme would help address this lack of understanding and provide critical mass for graphite expertise within the UK.

Generation IV and HTGR Advanced Technology and Materials Programme

Next generation reactors will have a higher demand on materials. Understanding of materials performance and degradation is a necessity. The UKs materials science expertise offers a lower-risk, high-impact route to de-risking deployment of next generation reactors. Developing concepts and models of next generation reactors is also a key area of interest, with this research also helping to derisk deployment by understanding the feasibility and performance of reactors. Integrating decommissioning into any reactor or materials designs or testing will also help to reduce the demand of decommissioning and the overall cost.

Waste

Workshop attendees highlighted the critical need to understand, treat and safely dispose of both legacy and next generation wastes, with integrated research and novel techniques needed to address these challenges. Alongside this there is an urgent need to understand next generation decommissioning especially with increased operating capacities of around 23 to 24GW. Advanced digital tools and modelling are needed to both optimise decommissioning as well as minimising waste through optimised reactor designs and fuel cycles.

Research and innovation impact

Impact can be defined as the long-term intended or unintended effect research and innovation has on society, economy and the environment; to individuals, organisations, and the wider global population.

Research disruption due to COVID-19

We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major interruptions and disruptions across our communities. We are committed to ensuring that individual applicants and their wider team, including partners and networks, are not penalised for any disruption to their career, such as:

  • breaks and delays
  • disruptive working patterns and conditions
  • the loss of ongoing work
  • role changes that may have been caused by the pandemic

Reviewers and panel members will be advised to consider the unequal impacts that COVID-19 related disruption might have had on the capability to deliver and career development of those individuals included in the application. They will be asked to consider the capability of the applicant and their wider team to deliver the research they are proposing.

Where disruptions have occurred, you can highlight this within your application if you wish, but there is no requirement to detail the specific circumstances that caused the disruption.

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