Double victory at the 2025 World Nuclear Exhibition
GraphiCore, active in the development of innovative solutions for the decommissioning of graphite-moderated nuclear reactors, has won the WNE Innovation Award 2025, an international prize dedicated to SMEs that propose technologies capable of addressing emerging challenges in the nuclear sector.
The award was presented during the World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE 2025), the world’s leading event dedicated to civil nuclear energy, which promotes excellence, know-how, and technologies for a more sustainable energy future.
In addition, the startup was selected among the Top 20 most innovative startups worldwide in the civil nuclear sector, joining the WNE Startup Program, an initiative that offers international visibility, mentoring, and collaboration opportunities with major players across the nuclear value chain, from energy applications to those in medicine, agriculture, and space.
GraphiCore’s Technological Innovations and Their Impact on Decommissioning
The solutions developed by GraphiCore aim to make the dismantling of graphite-moderated reactors safer and more efficient. The proposed technology enables the non-destructive removal of irradiated graphite blocks, reducing the need for manual interventions in areas with high radiological dose rates.
According to the jury’s motivations for awarding the startup, GraphiCore’s innovative approach provides a concrete contribution to:
reducing secondary waste,
lowering operator exposure,
increasing precision in dismantling operations,
supporting safer long-term decommissioning strategies.
Sustainability Award at StartCup Lombardia
At the regional level, GraphiCore received the Sustainability Award at StartCup Lombardia 2025, a competition promoted by universities, incubators, and the Lombardy Region to support the creation of high-potential startups.
The award recognizes the environmental and industrial impact of the technologies developed by the startup, designed to reduce waste, improve safety, and increase the overall efficiency of the nuclear decommissioning process.
Thanks to this recognition, GraphiCore will participate in the National Innovation Award (PNI) in the Climate Change category, which will take place in Ferrara on 4–5 December 2025.
GraphiCore, a startup born within the Department of Energy at the Politecnico di Milano and led by CEO Riccardo Chebac and CTO Fabio Vanoni, has received prestigious national and international recognition in the fields of nuclear innovation and industrial sustainability.
GraphiCore’s successes confirm the commitment of the Department of Energy at the Politecnico di Milano to promoting cutting-edge research, technology transfer, and the creation of high-potential startups in the energy sector. The startup is a concrete example of how the expertise developed within the Department can be transformed into innovative solutions with a real impact on the sustainability and safety of industrial processes, contributing to the growth of both the national and international innovation ecosystem.
