£4million nuclear build and manufacturing programme established

The research undertaken through the Nuclear Build and Manufacturing (MNUMAN) initiative aims to evolve a robust civil nuclear power supply to meet UK and global energy needs well into the future, with significant emphasis being put on the fundamentals of manufacturing for new nuclear builds and the next generation of power stations. The most improved manufacturing processes developed will be taken forward to prototype to enable UK manufacturing companies to learn the benefits of the new methods and use them in the future. Professor Dave Delpy, EPSRC's chief executive, said: "The new programme will play a key role in helping develop new manufacturing techniques that will lead to materials that can function more effectively in the hostile operating environments of a nuclear reactor. "Having a cutting edge capability in these fields will mean we have a stronger foothold in the manufacturing sector and are able to attract the best students and researchers to the UK." Programme director Mike Burke, of The University of Manchester, added:" This programme grant is a foresighted investment that will enable the pursuit of new and more efficient manufacturing technologies. "It also represents an exciting opportunity for our next generation of scientists and engineers to develop state of the art understanding of new processes and product performance."