UK to open fusion energy research facility in Rotherham, Yorkshire

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) will open a new fusion energy research facility in Rotherham, Yorkshire, to commercialize nuclear fusion as one of the important sources of low-carbon electricity in the future.

The £22 million fusion energy research hub will be located at the UK’s advanced manufacturing region and will engage industrial partners to position the Kingdom in commercial fusion energy development.

Situated at Waverley Advanced Manufacturing Park, the UKAEA nuclear fusion research facility will collaborate with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), and the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) for major research initiatives.

The planned 25,000 sq. ft fusion energy research facility in Rotherham will develop and test joining technologies for fusion materials and components and will bring 40 highly-skilled jobs to the South Yorkshire area.

The Rotherham fusion energy research facility will be opened in 2020. From 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 Crown copyright.

Colin Walters – director of the National Fusion Technology Platform,  UKAEA, commenting on the new UK fusion energy research facility,  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.”

With an additional investment of £2 million coming from Sheffield City Region’s Local Growth Fund, the nuclear fusion research facility will be funded as part of the Government’s Nuclear Sector Deal delivered through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The fusion research facility is also expected to develop technology for the first nuclear fusion power plants in the country, which are already being designed and is scheduled to open in 2020.

The Advanced Manufacturing Park’s existing occupants include Rolls-Royce, McLaren Automotive and both the AMRC and NAMRC.

Headquartered at Culham Science Centre near Oxford, the UKAEA is a UK government research organisation for the development of nuclear fusion. For more updates on the UK fusion energy research facility in Rotherham ((UKAEA Yorkshire facility), keep following Business News Today.