The announcement was made by Amanda Solloway MP, Science Minister for the UK Government, who said: “This new plant by General Fusion is a huge boost for our plans to develop a fusion industry in the UK, and I’m thrilled that Culham will be home to such a cutting-edge and potentially transformative project.
“Fusion energy has great potential as a source of limitless, low-carbon energy, and today’s announcement is a clear vote of confidence in the region and the UK’s status as a global science superpower.”
The Fusion Demonstration Plant at Culham is the culmination of more than a decade of advances in General Fusion’s technology and represents a major milestone on the company’s path to commercialisation. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2022, with operations beginning approximately three years later.
“Coming to Culham gives us the opportunity to benefit from UKAEA’s expertise,” said Christofer Mowry, CEO of General Fusion.
“By locating at this campus, General Fusion expands our market presence beyond North America into Europe, broadening our global network of government, institutional, and industrial partners. This is incredibly exciting news for not only General Fusion, but also the global effort to develop practical fusion energy.”
Ian Chapman, CEO of UKAEA, said: “This is a great development for UKAEA, very much in line with our mission to lead the development of sustainable fusion energy, and builds on our long heritage of hosting major fusion facilities such as the Joint European Torus.”