Nuclear Industry Services
As global demand for clean, reliable energy intensifies, decision makers are increasingly turning to nuclear power as a viable solution to meet sustainability goals and ensure energy security. The resulting wave of private investment is accelerating technological development and reshaping the industry landscape, positioning nuclear power as a key player in the transition to a low-carbon future.
Whether it's decommissioning of BWRs and PWRs, design for Small Modular Reactors, or developments in technologies as varied as Advanced Gas Reactors, molten salts, or nuclear fusion, Lucideon supports the industry through materials development, consultancy, and complex testing to ISO 17025, Nadcap and 10 CFR 50 Appendix B standards.
Areas of application
- Waste management - low, intermediate and high-level waste, plutonium disposition
- Advanced nuclear fuels - TRISO, MOX fuels
- Fission - molten salt reactors, high temperature gas reactors, small modular reactors, advanced modular reactors
- Fusion - breeder blanket materials, lithium-based ceramics, coatings
Capabilities
Materials development and consultancy
- Advanced alloy material selection
- Advanced ceramic materials and process development
- up to pilot-level scale and demonstration- CMC development
- Novel joining technologies
- Novel coatings development
- Surrogate materials development
- Hot Isostatic Pressing
- Powder processing development
- Novel cement development and validation
- up to pilot level scale and demonstration - MALLETTM for encapsulating problematic wastes
- Flash sintering for plutonium disposition and MOX manufacture
- Refractories materials development
Complex testing
- Corrosion assessments and stress corrosion cracking
- Commercial-grade verification testing
- Contamination identification
- Complex thermomechanical testing
- Permeation testing
- Thermal aging and endurance studies
- Custom machining
- Powder characterisation
- Advanced alloy characterisation
- Microstructural analysis
- Structural testing
Computational techniques
Through IMPACTTM and the data science team at Lucideon, we can use the following techniques to support your materials and process development:
- Machine learning
- Computer vision
- Process optimisation
Why work with Lucideon?
- End-to-end support: from concept and feasibility through to manufacturing and post-market challenges
- Technical proximity: direct and regular contact with our technical experts during the entire project duration
- Consultative mindset: tailored solutions to your unique materials and process challenges
- Independent expertise: objective advice backed by rigorous science and testing for regulatory submission
- Proven industry experience: decades of support within the nuclear market
Testing & characterization
» Testing & characterization services for the nuclear industry
About Lucideon
Lucideon is a world-leading materials development and technology commercialisation organisation. We help organisations innovate, optimise, and de-risk products through expert consultancy, applied research, and advanced testing.
With multidisciplinary teams and state-of-the-art facilities, we work across highly regulated industries to solve complex materials challenges and enable confident decision-making.
Talk to our material science experts to explore how Lucideon can support your next challenge.
Case Studies
Testing of unique cladding system and its components
A customised materials testing project for Nuclear Transport Services (NTS), UK (Phase 1)
A customized materials testing project for Nuclear Transport Services (NTS), UK (Phase 2)
White Papers
This white paper outlines analysis techniques for measuring concentrations of corrosion-assisting elements in nuclear reactors
Lucideon has developed geopolymer formulations for diverse applications and has built the understanding to control important characteristics
Frequently asked questions
What innovations are emerging to support the future of fusion energy?
Fusion environments impose extreme demands due to high operating temperatures, mechanical stresses, and neutron radiation. Meeting these requirements depends on the development of novel materials capable of long‑term performance under such conditions.
Ceramic matrix composites are one example of advanced materials being developed for fusion applications. Lucideon supports this work through the development of SiC/SiC CMCs, covering the full process chain from matrix preparation and forming through drying, debinding, densification, and detailed testing and characterization.
Why is material development important for decommissioning and waste management?
Conventional encapsulation approaches based on Ordinary Portland Cement grouts can present challenges, including high yield stresses that make mixing difficult. When problematic wastes are incorporated, this can also result in large waste volumes.
Developing alternative materials with higher waste loadings can significantly reduce disposal volumes and associated costs. To address this need, Lucideon has developed MALLET™, a cost‑efficient encapsulation technique for Intermediate Level Waste that delivers improved performance and greater flexibility compared with existing solutions.
What services does Lucideon offer to the advanced gas reactor market?
Lucideon provides specialist support across a range of advanced gas reactor challenges, including structural materials data packages, stress corrosion cracking, erosion‑abrasion‑fretting and environmental degradation studies, and high‑temperature materials development and validation. We also support the development and qualification of advanced manufacturing technologies, transport container materials and design, decommissioning and waste disposal materials, and novel sintering approaches for advanced fuels.
What materials testing capabilities does Lucideon have to offer to the nuclear industry?
Lucideon offers a wide range of materials testing methods suitable for the nuclear industry, including:
- Mechanical testing: tensile, compression, fatigue, creep, fracture toughness, hardness
- Thermal testing: thermal cycling, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, high‑temperature durability
- Chemical and environmental exposure testing: corrosion, oxidation, contamination analysis, hydrogen interaction
- Non‑destructive evaluation: microscopy, imaging, and defect characterization
- Materials characterization: XRD, SEM/EDX, particle analysis, surface evaluation