Investing in our facilities – the Future Materials Campus
Renewal Programme
As part of a Ministry of Defence (MoD) renewal programme, the UK will replace its existing nuclear warhead, and it is our highly skilled teams here at AWE that will do this. As well as people, we need to make sure we have the right facilities too.
Our site infrastructure will undergo transformation to contribute to the continued delivery of the current and next generation warheads, supporting the UK to become a world-leader in new nuclear technologies.
These facilities will be located on our existing site at Aldermaston and, as part of this, we will be building the Future Materials Campus (FMC).
This significant investment means AWE will continue to be a major employer and neighbour in the local area for many years to come.
We plan to put in a planning application for these works during 2025.
“There will be significant investment in AWE’s infrastructure in Aldermaston, including the Future Materials Campus (FMC). This programme will renew existing facilities for the manufacture and storage of nuclear components, improve science and analysis capabilities, and invest in new capabilities for nuclear material recovery.
Defence Nuclear Enterprise Command Paper 2024
“The multi-billion-pound programme of investment requires significant engagement of the wider industrial base to address specific manufacturing, delivery and assurance capability needs. The FMC will contribute to the UK’s skills development, creating jobs in the local area and across the UK supply chain. This will drive innovation in both construction and science.”
Why Now?
In spring 2024 the Secretary of State for defence presented the Command Paper to Parliament, ‘Delivering the UK’s Nuclear Deterrent as a National Endeavour’. As outlined within the paper, our Future Materials Campus (FMC) is a significant investment into infrastructure over multiple years that will support us in our overall purpose to protect the UK through nuclear science and technology.
Over the years in Aldermaston, development of facilities has been commissioned on a building-by-building basis and has been managed as separate construction projects. Moving forward and for this significant investment, there is a need to consolidate works. New facilities will be required, providing cutting-edge, state-of-the-art science capabilities in support of the replacement warhead programme.
The government agrees and will ring-fence funding to allow us to deliver the constructions needed across the whole site. We will work to ensure the investment the government is making in us flows down into the local community, through direct employment and through our supply chain.
