PhD Studentship - Thermal Energy Storage Integration with High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors: Optimising Fleet Size, Uranium Utilisation, and Waste Minimisation for the UK

This 4-year PhD project is fully funded; students who are eligible to pay tuition fees at the Home rate are eligible to apply. The successful candidate will receive an annual tax-free stipend set at the UKRI rate (£21,805 for 2026/27) plus an uplift of £5,000 per annum and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year. The Research and Training Grant will be £2,500 per annum.

The start date is October 2026.

Nuclear power plants are conventionally operated as baseload assets, yet coupling HTGRs with large-scale thermal energy storage (TES) could fundamentally alter this paradigm. By storing surplus reactor heat during periods of low demand and dispatching it during peaks, TES integration may enable a smaller fleet of reactors to meet equivalent industrial heat and electricity loads — directly reducing capital requirements, uranium consumption, and radioactive waste arisings.

This research will develop techno-economic models quantifying the TES capacity required to buffer HTGR output against realistic UK industrial heat demand profiles and grid flexibility requirements. Candidate storage technologies — such as molten salt, packed-bed high-temperature storage, and liquid metal systems — will be evaluated against the high outlet temperatures characteristic of HTGRs, assessing thermal efficiency, round-trip losses, and material compatibility.

The project will model fleet-size reduction scenarios, translating storage-enabled load-following into quantified savings in natural uranium demand, enrichment requirements, and spent fuel volumes. Environmental implications will be considered from cradle to grave using life cycle assessment (LCA). Analysis will be situated within the UK context, engaging with future energy scenarios and NDA waste inventory projections.

Outputs will include optimisation frameworks linking TES specification to reactor fleet sizing, with policy recommendations for integrated nuclear-thermal infrastructure planning in the UK.

This project is part of the Nuclear Doctoral Focal Award in Radiation Protection, Nuclear Safety and Environmental Sustainability (RAPTOR). The successful candidate will be part of a cohort of PhD students across four universities (Manchester, Liverpool, Surrey, Suffolk) working in a national programme with 18 industrial partners. During the first months of this PhD, training will be provided UK experts in radiation protection, environmental assessment and radioactive waste management, nuclear safety and security, and social value and societal impact.

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in Chemical Engineering or a related science/engineering discipline. Only UK students are eligible for this PhD scholarship.