£154 million investment to tackle UK’s plutonium stockpile in Cumbria
The five-year programme will focus first on research and development
Last updated 28th Aug 2025
People in the North West are set to benefit from more than one hundred new jobs as part of a major government programme to deal with the UK’s civil plutonium stockpile.
A total of £154 million is being invested to support the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group in developing specialist technology to make the hazardous material safe.
Most of the roles will be based at Sellafield in Cumbria, where new laboratories are being installed to test and prove two cutting-edge methods of immobilising plutonium.
Sellafield currently holds the world's largest stockpile of the hazardous material.
The five-year programme will focus first on research and development, with 50 people already in post.
Alongside this, £2.5 million has been pledged to create a new Plutonium Ceramics Academic Hub in partnership with the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield, aimed at training the experts needed for the work.
NDA chief executive David Peattie said the investment was a “strong vote of confidence” in the UK’s ability to safely and permanently deal with its nuclear legacy.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks added that the programme would not only secure one hundred jobs now, but support thousands more in future as the UK moves towards constructing a new processing plant and storage facility at Sellafield.
Currently, the plutonium is stored securely on the Cumbrian site, but once the technology is proven, it will be locked away in a stable form and ultimately disposed of in a Geological Disposal Facility.