Nuclear fusion research wins £100m in extra funds
THE Government is to invest more than £100m in funding research into nuclear fusion as it battles to re-enter a number of European scientific programmes.
The money is part of a £484m package to prop up science funding, it said, blaming the EU for a stall in Britain joining a number of multinational projects.
The UK is in a formal dispute resolution process over access to programmes including Horizon, a key €99.5bn (£86bn) science fund, and Euratom, its nuclear research venture. Other affected research includes the Copernicus space programme.
George Freeman, minister for science, research and innovation, told Parliament: “The ongoing uncertainty over access to EU Programmes (Horizon, Copernicus, Euratom R&T and Fusion for Energy) is placing increasing pressure on UK universities and research organisations, as well as causing significant issues for the UK’S Fusion and Earth Observation sectors.
“UK researchers should already be part of these programmes. However the EU have now delayed our association for nearly two years.”
The package of funding includes £84m for Joint European Torus (Jet), which is a European effort to produce a functioning nuclear fusion reactor.
Nuclear fusion, where two atoms are combined at high temperatures, has long offered the promise of dependable electricity and heat, replicating the process that fuels the Sun.
Unlike fission, which creates longlasting nuclear waste, the only byproduct is helium. However, the process is technically very challenging.
The UK is a hotbed of fusion startups, with four compared to three in Japan
and five in the EU. The US has the most with 20. Oxford start-up First Light Fusion made technological advances this year when it kindled a fusion reaction by firing projectiles at fuel.
Another £42.1m will be offered to support the UK’S fusion offering, the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Fusion Industry Programme. Much of the remainder will go to various universityled research schemes. Mr Freeman said: “We cannot wait forever to invest the funding set aside for association in our world-leading R&D sector.”