Lancaster University will play a major role in helping the UK to address the shortage of high-level nuclear skills and support the transition to Net Zero by delivering a new generation of talented nuclear sector engineers, scientists and researchers.
New PhD opportunities for more than 15 researchers a year over the next four years are being created at Lancaster University's School of Engineering thanks to a new nuclear skills investment announced by the Government.
Delivered through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are investing a total of £65.6 million nationally in new funding in seven 'Doctoral Focal Award' research programmes. This national investment will aim to quadruple the UK's intake of nuclear doctoral students to more than 500 across the country by 2034.
The UK Government's Strategic Defence Review and National Nuclear Strategic Plan for Skills highlight an urgent shortage of high skill nuclear scientists and engineers, with an estimated 120,000 workers needed by the 2030s, including a rapidly depleting cohort of subject matter experts.
Lancaster University is a delivery partner within three of the seven doctoral training programmes and is set to receive a combined total of more than £5 million through the Government investment and matched funding from industrial partners to support at least 60 doctoral positions across four years.
Lancaster University is a key partner in the following programmes:
· SATURN-2 (Skills and Training Underpinning a Renaissance in Nuclear) - a partnership of seven universities led by the University of Manchester, SATURN-2 builds on the success of the original SATURN Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT), doubling its size and introducing expanded training pathways across the entire nuclear fuel cycle. SATURN-2 will train specialists across: Nuclear fuel manufacture and performance; reactor science, engineering and operations; decommissioning and waste management; fusion‑fission interfaces; digital engineering, robotics and AI in nuclear contexts. Lancaster University's lead on SATURN-2 is Professor Colin Boxall.
· The STAND-UP (Skills and Training driving availability of National Defence Assets UP skilling) programme is led by the University of Strathclyde and will train 80 Engineering Doctorate researchers across its seven university partners. The programme will help strengthen the UK's capabilities in nuclear engineering, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies and nuclear decommissioning. Through STAND-UP especially, students will undertake doctoral research through extended placements within partner organisations while completing structured professional and technical training. Lancaster University's lead on STAND-UP is Professor James Taylor.
· The Physics-led Applications for Nuclear Technology Programme (PLANET) - a Doctoral Focal Award, which is led by the University of York, will equip students and researchers to work in fields vital to national security, clean energy and healthcare. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the partnership consists of three Nuclear Physics research groups at the Universities of York, Surrey and Edinburgh and two Nuclear Engineering groups at the Universities of Cambridge and Lancaster. The partnership is designed to close the historical gap between fundamental science and real-world energy solutions. Lancaster University lead on PLANET is Professor Malcolm Joyce.
The awards build on Lancaster University's internationally leading position in nuclear science and engineering with research and expertise which cuts across in nuclear instrumentation, nuclear decommissioning, and chemical processes.
Professor Joyce, Lancaster University interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at Lancaster University and Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering, said: "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for postgraduate, research-intensive, nuclear training in the UK and it's a fantastic result that Lancaster is a partner on three successful awards."
Professor Boxall, Co-Director of Nuclear Lancaster, the University's Nuclear Science and Engineering Research Centre, said: "These awards reflect and further reinforce Lancaster's position as one of the UK's largest research and development centres of nuclear science and engineering , and the only UK university to offer research-informed nuclear education at all levels - going from foundation level, to our unique-in-the-UK Nuclear Engineering Master's (MEng) degree and on to these new Nuclear PhDs.
"There's an urgent need for new highly skilled people in the UK nuclear sector and these new doctoral positions present a fantastic opportunity for aspiring nuclear engineers and researchers to launch their careers in the nuclear industry."
The Government says this new investment will ensure the UK has the expertise to accelerate the construction of critical nuclear infrastructure while maintaining stringent safety and environmental standards.
Professor Charlotte Deane, Executive Chair at UKRI's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council said: "The UK's nuclear sector is central to our national security, clean energy ambitions and economic future. Meeting those challenges demands a new generation of researchers and innovators with the technical expertise to make a real difference.
"UKRI doctoral focal awards are a proven way to develop that talent. They bring together academic excellence, industry partnerships and cohort-based learning to give doctoral students the skills and experience to make an immediate impact in the nuclear workforce.
"These new nuclear focal awards, developed in partnership with government, will continue building the research base that the UK's national security and clean energy future depends on."
Recruitment for the programmes will start this year with the first cohorts starting in the 2026/27 academic year.
