Oxford Sigma
Summer Internship - LITHIUM CERAMIC PEBBLE MANUFACTURING PROCESS DEVELOPMENT
Lithium ceramics are a category of solid breeder material proposed for use in fusion systems to breed tritium through lithium transmutation. In order to deliver fusion, manufacturing routes for these materials must be developed, optimised, and deployed at scale.
This 8 week Intern project consists of manufacturing lithium ceramic from precursor materials in Oxford Sigma’s own Materials Development Laboratory (MDL) in Culham Innovation Centre; testing methods to produce the desirable pebble morphology; and characterisation of materials produced using techniques such as electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction.
Lithium ceramic pebbles are relevant to international fusion programmes, including ITER and national fusion initiatives in Japan and Korea, and their manufacture presents real challenges in powder processing, forming, sintering, and quality control. The process development will involve small scale experimentation with bespoke equipment and systematic investigation of process parameters. This will culminate in a technical report detailing the project’s findings.
Student Suitability
Suitable for students studying materials science/engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, chemical engineering, and nuclear engineering or related disciplines. Prior experience with ceramics, powder processing, or materials characterisation is helpful but not essential, training will be provided.
Student Responsibilities
The intern will be embedded within Oxford Sigma’s Materials team and will:
Develop and trial a manufacturing route for lithium metatitanate pebbles in MDL.
Develop and optimise existing techniques for lithium ceramic pebble manufacturing.
Plan and carry out a systematic investigation of process parameters, supporting sintering trials and assess the impact of key process parameters.
Perform basic materials characterisation to verify phase formation and product quality.
Write up findings in a technical report.
Present the output of the project to the wider Oxford Sigma team.
Learning and development opportunities
The internship will provide exposure to:
Hands‑on experience with ceramic materials processing and manufacturing.
Fusion breeder blanket concepts and tritium breeding requirements
Process development at the laboratory-scale
Experience using common materials characterisation techniques
Ownership of a project, from planning to delivery
Industrially relevant research
This is an in-person role based at our lab in Culham, with some attendance at our HQ in Summertown, Oxford.
This internship is in collaboration with UKAEA’s Fusion Opportunities in Skills, Training, Education and Research (FOSTER) programme, which supports the UK Fusion Energy Strategy’s objective to grow the skills and talent pipeline required for fusion commercialisation. This internship position at Oxford Sigma is part of the Summer Internship Scheme which enables students to undertake paid placements within host organisations related to the fusion industry.
EligibilityThe candidate must have the right to work in the UK
The candidate must be an Undergraduate, Postgraduate or PhD student who is still classified by their university as a student at time of internship start.
Salary
£25,931 FTE (pro-rata)
Apply
We’d love to understand more about you, and why you want to get involved in fusion.
Submit your CV and covering letter (both in PDF format) below
Applications will be reviewed fortnightly, until all our spaces are filled, or until 12:00 20th April 2026 – whichever comes first. This is one of four summer Internship opportunities at Oxford Sigma in 2026, across three projects.
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