Government’s Fusion Strategy points to exciting future of clean energy, says Prospect

The government has launched its Fusion Strategy, which will help to usher in a new era of clean, abundant energy, create 10,000 high quality jobs by 2030 and protect the UK’s energy sovereignty.

3D render of the ITER Tokamak fusion reactor

It plans to offer a market framework to attract and support private investment in fusion energy, which the government says will provide confidence to investors and ensure a fair deal for consumers.

The Fusion Strategy builds on the government’s record £2.5 billion investment in fusion research and development that was announced at the Spending Review.

Among the details released in the strategy is the awarding of a £200 million contract for a new Construction Partner to build a world-leading fusion energy plant in a former coal plant in Nottinghamshire, which will be completed by 2040.

Sue Ferns OBE, Prospect Senior Deputy General Secretary, said:

“The advent of fusion is an exciting prospect for the future of clean energy and it’s welcome that the government is investing and accelerating progress with this Strategy.

“As outlined in the Strategy, fusion has the potential to create many jobs and we welcome the commitment to working with trade unions to ensure those jobs are high quality.

“With public money underpinning the whole programme it is vital that we leverage that funding to establish a domestic supply chain, good jobs and a proper skills pipeline. We look forward to working with the Govt, UKAEA and partner organisations to help achieve this.

“It is also important to recognise that good science doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and we need to be collaborating with others if we are to make progress with fusion. In practice that means not putting up barriers to international workers and rejoining Euratom, which plays an important role in supporting the development of nuclear fusion.”