A thriving nuclear industry is crucial to the UKs energy security and to clean up the legacy of over 50 years of nuclear power. The research performed in the ICO (Imperial Cambridge Open universities, pronounced ECO!) CDT will enable current reactors to be used longer, enable new reactors to be built and operated more safely, support the clean up and decommissioning of the UKs contaminated nuclear sites and place the UK at the forefront of international programmes for future reactors for civil and marine power. It will also provide a highly skilled and trained cohort of nuclear PhDs with a global vision and international outlook entirely appropriate for the UK nuclear industry, academia, regulators and government. Key areas where ICO CDT will significantly improve our current understanding include in civil, structural, mechanical and chemical engineering as well as earth science and materials science. Specifically, in metallurgy we will perform world-leading research into steels in reactor and storage applications, Zr alloy cladding, welding, creep/fatigue and surface treatments for enhanced integrity. Other materials topics to be covered include developing improved and more durable ceramic, glass, glass composite and cement wasteforms; reactor life extension and structural integrity; and corrosion of metallic waste containers during storage and disposal. In engineering we will provide step change understanding of modelling of a number of areas including in: Reactor Physics (radionuclide transport, neutron transport in reactor systems, simulating radiation-fluid-solid interactions in reactors and finite element methods for transient kinetics of severe accident scenarios); Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (assessment of critical heat flux for reactors, buoyancy-driven natural circulation coolant flows for nuclear safety, simulated dynamics and heat transfer characteristics of severe accidents in nuclear reactors); and Materials and Structural Integrity (residual stress prediction, fuel performance, combined crystal plasticity and discrete dislocation modelling of failure in Zr cladding alloys, sensor materials and wasteforms). In earth science and engineering we will extend modelling of severe accidents to enable events arising from accidents such as those at Chernobyl and Fukushima to be predicted; and examine near field (waste and in repository materials) and far field (geology of rocks surrounding the repository) issues including radionuclide sorption and transport of relevance to the UKs geological repository (especially in geomechanics and rock fracture). In addition, we will make key advances in development of next generation fission reactors such as examining flow behaviour of molten salts, new fuel materials, ultra high temperature non-oxide and MAX phase ceramics for fuels and cladding, thoria fuels and materials issues including disposal of wastes from Small Modular Reactors. We will examine areas of symbiosis in research for next generation fission and fusion reactors. A key aspect of the ICO CDT will be the global outlook given to the students and the training in dealing with the media, a key issue in a sensitive topic such as nuclear where a sensible and science-based debate is crucial.

The global hydrogen generation market is valued at $115.25 billion in 2017 and is projected to grow to $154.74 billion by 2022 [Global Outlook & Trends for Hydrogen, IEA, 2017]. We are witnessing significant market opportunities emerging for hydrogen technologies today. New and existing hydrogen technology developments and market activities are projected to intensify over the coming decade. Sustainable hydrogen solutions are a key pathway for decarbonising transport, heat and power generation sectors. Common challenges to sustainable hydrogen being adopted across these sectors are: - Cost reduction - Safety - Systems level and multisectoral innovations - Managing change Over the next decade innovative solutions are needed to tackle the above challenges, but it will be impossible without a dedicated mechanism to train doctoral Energy Innovation Leaders. These leaders should have a firm grasp of the technology from scientific fundamentals through to applied engineering and a solid understanding of the techno-economic barriers and an appreciation of the societal issues that will impact on the translation of disruptive technologies from research labs through to market. This goes beyond being multidisciplinary, but is a transdisciplinary training, reflecting the translation steps from understanding market driven needs, planning and conducting appropriate basic and applied research to products/solutions/system development through to successful market penetration. This is delivered by a cohort training approach through the cross fertilisation of ideas of a cohort with a diverse background, peer-demonstration of the value of research across a diverse range of stakeholder-led projects, thus facilitating a peer-to-peer transdisciplinary learning culture. The SusHy Consortium, led by Gavin Walker, continues a long running and highly successful collaboration in hydrogen research between the Universities of Nottingham, Loughborough, and Birmingham (UoN, LU, UoB) which started over a decade ago with the Midlands Energy Consortium. The Midlands Energy Graduate School spawned two successful CDTs (Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and their Applications and the current Fuel Cells and their Fuels). The current proposal for a CDT in Sustainable Hydrogen brings together the world leading expertise in hydrogen generation, purification, sensors/monitoring, and storage, along with whole systems issues (resilience engineering, business economic models and life cycle analysis) which exist across the three Universities. A gap in the consortium expertise is in the research field of hydrogen safety and we identified the internationally-renowned Hydrogen Safety Engineering and Research Centre (HySAFER) at Ulster University (UU) as the right partner to deliver on this key aspect. This is the first broad collaboration in the world seeking to investigate, train researchers and produce leaders in Sustainable Hydrogen. Stakeholder Partnerships. A key strength of this CDT is the active involvement of the Stakeholders in co-creation of the training programme which is reciprocated in the value with which the Stakeholders view of the CDT. This shared vision of a training partnership between the Universities and Stakeholders will lead to the smooth function of the CDT with not just a high-quality training programme, but a programme that is tailored to the sector needs for high-quality, industry-ready doctoral Energy Innovation Leaders. The valued CDT-stakeholder partnership will also be a significant appeal to candidates interested in energy-related PhDs and will be used to help market the CDT programme to a diverse talent pool.