UK pledges £410m for fusion R&D and shortlists firms that will design and build prototype plant

Article by Adam Duckett

UKAEA / EUROfusion

THE UK has pledged to invest £410m (US$501m) in fusion power development and has shortlisted the engineering and construction companies that will help build the country’s prototype fusion power plant.

The investment follows the government’s announcement in the autumn budget that it would provide “significant support” for fusion energy research and development from 2025–2026. It says the £410m will be spent developing the STEP prototype power plant in Nottinghamshire at the site of a former coal-fired power plant, repurposing the now defunct JET fusion test reactor in Culham, and funding the Fusion Futures programme, which will foster fusion skills and build a fusion fuel research facility.

Kerry McCarthy, the UK’s climate minister, said: “Last year Nottinghamshire marked the end of coal in our country after 142 years and today it starts the process to create the energy of the future. We are taking a step forward in the global race to commercialise fusion, growing our economy, attracting investment and harnessing the power of the sun to create clean limitless secure energy.”

Meanwhile, five consortia have been shortlisted to design and build STEP. The two vying to become the engineering partner for the project are Celestial (which involves Eni, AtkinsRealis, Jacobs Clean Energy, Westinghouse, and Tokamak Energy) and Phoenix Fusion (Cavendish Nuclear, KBR, and Assystem Energy and Infrastructure).

Those in the race to construct STEP are Inovus Infrastructure (Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering, Vinci Construction, AtkinsRealis, Mott Macdonald, and WSP), ILIOS (Kier Infrastructure and Overseas, Bam Nuttal, Nuvia, AECOM, Turner and Townsend Infrastructure, and Amanda Levete Architects) and Ferrovial Mace (Ferrovial Construction and Mace Consult).

They will now have detailed discussions with UK Industrial Fusion Solutions (UKIFS), the subsidiary of the UK Atomic Energy Authority that is leading the design, build, and operation of STEP, ahead of the winning partners being awarded a contract by early 2026.

Paul Methven, CEO of UKIFS, said: “The announcement of shortlisted organisations for STEP’s Whole Plant Partners is a critical milestone for our mission to demonstrate fusion energy and development of a world-leading fusion supply chain that unlocks significant industrial and economic opportunities.”

If fusion power can be commercialised it could revolutionise energy supplies by providing near limitless clean power without producing CO2 emissions or large volumes of radioactive waste. However, its development is decades in the making and the path to engineering such a complex system for the first time has not run smoothly. In July, the internationally-funded fusion project ITER announced operations of a reactor would be delayed by a decade to the mid-2030s and costs could rise €5bn (US$5.1bn).

However, lone industry developers remain bullish with Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which was spun out of MIT in 2018, estimating they could commercialise their fusion technology by the early 2030s.

The UK wants to start up STEP and begin generating power for the national grid during the 2040s. A crucial part of the project is producing the fuel needed for the plant. The £410m provided by the government will include funding for the LIBRTI (lithium breeding tritium innovation) project. It’s estimated that £200m will be spent up to 2028 constructing a testbed facility for the tritium feeder blanket system. This system will be used in fusion facilities to both produce more fuel for fusion and provide heat exchange from the fusion process to generate more electricity.

Last year, the government called for industry to help plan its procurement for LIBRTI, including the process equipment, control technology, and the safety consultancy needed for the project.

Article by Adam Duckett

Editor, The Chemical Engineer

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