University of Sheffield gets grant to help expand nuclear lab

The University of Sheffield in England said on Friday that it has received nearly $1.2 million from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to expand its pioneering nuclear materials laboratory.

The funds will be used specifically to further develop its new technologies for safely treating and removing radioactive wastes.

This funding comes on the heels of the university's investment to create a state-of-the-art nuclear research laboratory in the university's department of materials science and engineering, an internationally renowned authority on the management and removal of radioactive waste.

“The government has set out its expectation that nuclear power should play a significant role in the U.K.’s future energy mix,” Neil Hyatt, professor of nuclear materials chemistry and director of the Immobilization Science Laboratory, said. “This investment by DECC will create a world-leading research facility in Sheffield for innovation of new advanced radioactive waste management and disposal technologies, and will be accessible by the U.K. and international researchers.”

“As home to one of the U.K.’s best and largest faculties of engineering, the university is committed to world-class research on all forms of energy,” Professor Mike Hounslow, pro-vice chancellor of the engineering faculty at the University of Sheffield, said. “I welcome this funding and the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s recognition of our work on nuclear materials.”