The University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute will officially open its Cumbrian research facility on Friday, September 6.
The Dalton Cumbrian Facility (DCF) is a new research base established with an initial £20 million joint investment by the University and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Situated on the Westlakes Science and Technology Park, near Whitehaven, the DCF will bring world-leading academic research in nuclear energy to West Cumbria.
Now a core component of the new National Nuclear User Facility, announced as part of the Government’s Nuclear Industrial Strategy, the DCF is designed to complement and significantly expand the nuclear research and education capability of the UK’s nuclear R&D sector. The overall aims of the Facility are the delivery of world-leading nuclear research and the transfer of knowledge to industry.
The DCF is adding to the growing research, education and skills infrastructure in West Cumbria, key elements in the Britain’s Energy Coast programme that is designed to build on West Cumbria’s world-leading capability in the nuclear industry to deliver diverse and sustained economic wellbeing for the area.
Research at DCF will focus primarily on the areas of radiation science and nuclear engineering decommissioning. The facility is fully equipped following delivery and commissioning of a particle accelerator, the largest and most complex research equipment to be housed at DCF.
The DCF incorporates detailed computer modelling capability and large-scale experimental laboratories, including extensive irradiation facilities and associated analytical and inspection equipment, to provide a comprehensive research environment.
Through the DCF, the University has pioneered unique academic access to the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL)’s extensive R&D and engineering facilities at the Central Laboratory, situated on the Sellafield site, and at Workington. This access, available to wider UK academia, is vital to support full lifecycle development and deployment of innovative technologies.
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