This funding opportunity is supported through the International Science and Partnerships Fund (ISPF). The ISPF is designed to enable potential and foster prosperity.
It will support UK researchers and innovators to work with international partners on the major themes of our time, and to help them create new knowledge and technology for the world. It is managed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
It will be delivered by a consortium of the UK’s leading research and innovation bodies including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Overview
The UK Japan Civil Nuclear Research Programme 2023 is a jointly funded opportunity between EPSRC and MEXT and aims to target key challenges in the decommissioning of both Fukushima and Sellafield nuclear power plants.
This programme supports advances in knowledge which will support the UK’s ambition to ramp up our nuclear capacity in the UK to up to 24GW by 2050. There is a strong focus on our ability to decommission legacy nuclear power plants such as Sellafield, to enable the scaling up of UK’s nuclear programme.
There is a need to research ways into decommissioning these plants in an easier, safer, more cost effective and sustainable way. This research will increase our knowledge on how to decommission these new reactors once they reach end of life, and will help to find solutions in decommissioning our current legacy nuclear power plants.
The funding opportunity will directly deliver against the UK Japan Civil Nuclear Research Programme objectives and EPSRC’s engineering net zero priority ambitions, by targeting key challenges of the decommissioning process of both Fukushima and Sellafield nuclear power plants. The research will address challenges in:
- radioactive waste treatment, packaging, and storage
- remote handling, robotic, and autonomous systems in decommissioning
- environmental behaviour of radionuclide release and management of risk and degraded infrastructure
These research challenges are fundamental for the successful decommissioning of the two sites and will help pave the way for cleanup and decommissioning of future reactors, and help strengthen our ties with Japan on nuclear decommissioning.
Scope
UKRI and MEXT in Japan has identified priority issues which potential applicants within the UK research and innovation community must address.
Proposals must address issues in at least one of the three fields:
- radioactive waste treatment, packaging, and storage
- remote handling, robotic, and autonomous systems in decommissioning
- environmental behaviour of radionuclide release and management of risk and degraded infrastructure
Within these fields, we would like research proposals to fall within the sub-themes.
Radioactive waste treatment, packaging, and storage
Sub-themes:
- long-term management and disposal of degraded fuels
- innovating application of the waste hierarchy to improve radioactive waste management
Remote handling, robotic, and autonomous systems in decommissioning
Sub-themes:
- robotic deployment systems, surface and underwater, deployment through narrow access ports
- digital technologies, digital twin, planning, and autonomy
- inspection, in-situ characterisation and decontamination, and in-situ chemical analysis and mechanical testing, including underwater
- methods for collecting fuel debris and other materials
Environmental behaviour of radionuclide release and management of risk and degraded infrastructure
Sub-themes:
- leak detection, contamination countermeasures, and clean up
- data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning
- digital technologies, digital twin, planning, and autonomy to manage risk
This funding opportunity is not open to research proposals on new fuels and new reactors. It is preferable, but not essential, that your application complements existing research projects funded under previous phases of the UK Japan Civil Nuclear Energy programme.
Differences to a standard application
The differences are:
- applications must include a collaboration between UK-based and Japan-based researchers
- this is a jointly funded opportunity between EPSRC and MEXT. The UK partner should submit their proposal part to EPSRC, and the Japanese partner should submit their part to the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and the Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS):
- projects are to be of fixed duration, with a fixed start date of 1 November 2023 and a fixed end date of 31 March 2026. This fixed timeline is set to accommodate Japan’s funding cycle
- the case for support can be up to 12 sides of A4 to match the allowed limit in Japan
- the case for support submitted to EPSRC should match the content submitted to JAEA and CLADS as closely as possible given the difference in language, and describe the work being done in both Japan and the UK
- you should request only the travel and subsistence cost for the UK part of the project. Your Japanese partner should request any funds they need from MEXT
- additional grant conditions apply, detailed in the ‘additional info’ section
Find out more about the JAEA and CLADS part of the funding opportunity at:
Funding available
This funding opportunity is jointly run by EPSRC and MEXT, with EPSRC funding the UK-based component of the research project, and MEXT funding the Japan-based one.
The FEC of the UK project work can be up to £593,750. EPSRC will fund 80% of the FEC (up to £475,000). We intend to support the UK component of two research projects.
Equipment
Equipment over £10,000 in value (including VAT) is not available through this funding opportunity. Smaller items of equipment (individually under £10,000) should be in the ‘Directly Incurred – Other Costs’ heading.
EPSRC approach to equipment funding.
Responsible innovation
You are expected to work within the EPSRC framework for responsible innovation.
International collaboration
Applicants planning to include international collaborators on their proposal should visit Trusted Research for guidance on getting the most out of international collaboration while protecting intellectual property, sensitive research and personal information.
