Dear readers,
How would you like your community to be at the centre of a clean energy revolution that could change the world? That’s what we’re offering as we launch the search for a home for the UK’s first ever fusion power plant.
The plant, called STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), will be a prototype for commercial power stations and could be the first anywhere to put electricity from fusion on the grid. Hosting STEP will bring major benefits to the local economy – in new jobs, skills for young people, and future investment as the fusion industry takes off. Read more about our siting process in this newsletter – and if you think your area fits the bill, get a community bid together and be part of history.
Speaking of the benefits of fusion, a new independent report has estimated that for every £1 the Government invests in fusion research, the taxpayer gets £4 back. Over the past decade, UKAEA’s work has generated £1.4 billion to the UK economy. It’s also supported an average of 4,000 jobs per year. That’s quite a return and highlights the positive impacts and spin-offs we’re generating along the way to our goal of commercial fusion power.
The Government continues to back fusion research, with support in its recent 10-point plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. In these uncertain times for public finances, it’s reassuring to see the report’s commitment to ‘doubling down on our ambition to be the first country in the world to commercialise fusion’, underlined by positive statements in the Autumn spending review.
The momentum in UK fusion has continued with the launch of our new national experiment, MAST Upgrade. This machine will tackle some of the biggest remaining hurdles in bringing fusion energy to your homes and businesses. It will also be a smaller forerunner to STEP, so starting up the machine is another important ‘step’ on the path to realising our mission, if you’ll pardon the pun. I was in the control room for the first plasma test on MAST Upgrade and could feel the tension and excitement as we counted down to the big moment… as well as the relief when we achieved a plasma after a complex seven-year project.
So it’s been a very positive, and busy, few months for fusion and you can read more in the articles below. I hope you enjoy this edition, and please consider subscribing to our other e-newsletters on UKAEA activities – from robotics to materials research. See the Contacts page at the end of this newletter to sign up, or go to https://ccfe.ukaea.uk/contact/updates/ for more details.
Professor Ian Chapman
UK Atomic Energy Authority, CEO
Front cover: MAST Upgrade Super-X Divertor