The new fusion test facility is expected to be operational in 2020
Image: Announcing the UKAEA Yorkshire facility - left to right: Liz Surrey (Head of Technology, UKAEA); Peter Henry (Regional Director, Harworth); Sarah Champion (MP for Rotherham); Andrew Storer (Chief Executive, Nuclear AMRC). Photo: courtesy of gov.uk.
The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is set to open a new £22m fusion test facility in Rotherham, Yorkshire.
The facility is expected to be operational in 2020 and will provide 40 highly-skilled jobs to the South Yorkshire area.
It will also help UKAEA to put the country in a position to commercialise nuclear fusion as a source of low-carbon electricity in the years to come.
The fusion test facility will be located at the Advanced Manufacturing Park, where Rolls-Royce, McLaren Automotive and both the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) are based.
Nuclear AMRC CEO Andrew Storer said: “We’re delighted to welcome UKAEA to the Advanced Manufacturing Park, and to the Sheffield region’s world-leading cluster of applied innovation.
“We look forward to working with UKAEA at their new facility to develop manufacturing techniques for fusion power plants and help UK manufacturers win work in this growing global market.”
The site’s main objective will be to develop and test joining technologies for fusion materials and components, which will then be tested and evaluated under conditions simulating the inside of a fusion reactor.
Funds to be provided by the UK government
The funds for the facility will be provided as part of the government’s Nuclear Sector Deal delivered through Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Sheffield City Region’s Local Growth Fund will also be investing an extra £2 million.
The UKAEA claims that it will help UK businesses win contracts as part of ITER – the international fusion project to be built in the south of France. It will also enable technology development for the first nuclear fusion power plants, which are being designed at present.
UKAEA’s director of the National Fusion Technology Platform Colin Walters said: “Momentum is growing in fusion research and we believe the opening of this facility in South Yorkshire represents a practical step towards developing power plants.
“This facility will provide fantastic opportunities for UK businesses to win contracts and put UKAEA in a great position to help deliver the necessary expertise for the first nuclear fusion power stations.”
The 25,000 sq. ft planned facility will be in need of regular supplies of specialist metals and materials, opening opportunities for local UK companies.