The UK government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, has publicly backed the transformative potential of fusion energy as a tool to combat climate change, following his visit to the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).
Vallance was joined by UK Ministry of Defence nuclear scientific adviser, Bill Lee, for a briefing on the UK’s fusion programme, including the first prototype fusion energy powerplant, STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production).
The delegation also learned about the businesses based at Culham Science Centre in south Oxfordshire, including General Fusion, Reaction Engines and Oxbotica.
UKAEA’s Culham campus is currently undergoing a major regeneration programme and has become a hub for fusion energy and adjacent technologies, such as robotics, computing and advanced materials.
Vallance said: “UKAEA’s ongoing contribution to fusion research and demonstration is helping to solve one of the world’s greatest challenges in decarbonising our global energy systems, as well as advancing a range of critical science and technology areas.”
The tour of UKAEA’s Culham campus concluded with a visit to on-site training centre, Oxfordshire Advanced Skills, where the delegation met apprentices from a range of companies.
