Physics Department News
New grant awarded in collaboration with WMG to develop fusion shielding
Dr Jessica Marshall has been awarded £236,000, out of a possible £250,000 for a six-moth research project funded by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), marking a significant step forward in the development of Novel shielding materials and technologies for fusion shielding.
The project launched in collaboration with Dr Shubham Sharma and Professor Darren Hughes from Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) aims to explore low-activation radiation-dense shielding solutions for practical fusion reactors.
The research will focus on the novel shielding materials and technologies for fusion shielding. The approach is investigating mixed borocarbides (made from boron and carbon) and low-activation joining methods for in-vessel shielding alongside concrete-boride compounds for ex-vessel shielding.
The aims of this research will be to establish the practicality of shielding materials for fusion reactors in the broader context of nuclear power inclusive of fission power. Compact low-activation shielding will make de-commissioning and re-commissioning safer, reduce the footprint of modular nuclear reactors and potentially accelerate the building and deployment of the UK’s first fusion reactor with the aim to do so by 2040.
This research supports an important interdisciplinary collaboration between the Department of Physics and WMG in terms of basic research through to initial establishment of manufacturing routes for practical compact radiation-dense shielding for nuclear reactors
These innovations aim to enable faster deployment of fusion reactors and small modular fission reactors with the aim of ensuring nuclear independence and carbon-negative power generation by 2050.