Launching on 22 May 2024, the multi-stage competition will seek to find industry partners – one in engineering and one in construction – to form a world-leading public-private alliance led by UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd (UKIFS), a wholly owned subsidiary of UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Group, to deliver the STEP prototype fusion plant.
UKAEA will be one of the three ‘Whole Plant Partners’ to STEP contributing specialised expertise and resources as part of the integrated alliance with the two successful bidders.
STEP will be built at West Burton, the site of a former
coal-fired power station site in Nottinghamshire, and aims to demonstrate net energy from fusion in the 2040s.
Intended to be long-term partnerships, the successful engineering and construction partners would be awarded contracts late 2025 / early 2026, worth an initial combined value of hundreds of millions of pounds in the initial contract period until 2029. The contracts will be phased, building progressively in-line with the development of the prototype plant.
A crucial part of STEP’s mission is to develop a world-leading fusion supply chain to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of a new technology and emerging industry.
The programme aims to pave the way for the commercialisation of fusion and the potential development of a fleet of future plants around the world.
Minister for Nuclear and Renewables, Andrew Bowie, said:
“Fusion could provide a near limitless source of energy and the UK is leading the way in trying to harness this power and deliver long-term energy independence.
“Building STEP is a major opportunity for the sector and will provide investment and jobs in a former industrial area of Nottinghamshire.”
Paul Methven, CEO, UK Industrial Fusion Solutions, said:
“The launch of our STEP procurement for engineering and construction partners will be a critical milestone on the journey to demonstrate and then commercialise fusion energy.
“Our industrial model will combine the best of public and private sectors in an integrated alliance to drive economic and industrial opportunities for the UK on a significant scale.
“Together with our partners, we will leverage the UK’s internationally renowned status in fusion research and development to lead the delivery of a fusion energy sector that will help meet the global energy demand in the second half of this century.”
Following the appointment of these strategic partners, will flow a vast range of other opportunities for the broader supply chain, details of this will unfold in due course.
STEP provides an enormous opportunity as a catalyst for growth and regeneration for communities surrounding the West Burton power station site, announced as STEP’s home in October 2022.
The programme will create thousands of highly skilled jobs during construction and operations, as well as attracting other high-tech industries to the Midlands region.
STEP’s Whole Plant Partner procurement will be live from the 22 May. Once the initial stage of the selection process is complete, UKIFS will enter detailed discussions with shortlisted companies.
To sign-up for updates about STEP, visit: step.ukaea.uk
AtkinsRéalis has been appointed by UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to deliver the detailed design of a world-first Isotope Separation System to strengthen research into sustainable fusion delivery.
The Isotype Separation System will form part of UKAEA’s Hydrogen-3 Advanced Technology (H3AT) Facility, a world-first tritium fuel cycle research facility to include a prototype-scale process plant and experimental platform, which is a scaled version of the design for ITER. The tritium capacity of this highly complex Isotope Separation System will make it the most advanced research facility of its kind, helping to enable the development of tritium fuel cycle infrastructure necessary for sustainable fusion power.
AtkinsRéalis has already completed the concept and detailed process design of the main H3AT facility, currently under construction at UKAEA’s Culham Campus, in Oxfordshire, alongside the concept and preliminary design of the Isotype Separation System. The AtkinsRéalis team will now deliver detailed process and mechanical designs for the system, including the vital cryogenic- and ambient temperature equipment that will be required to collect, process, and recycle the tritium fuel.
Jason Dreisbach, Head of Advanced Energy Technologies at AtkinsRéalis, said:
“The H3AT Facility will be a first-of-a-kind research facility to strengthen UK and international efforts to advance tritium fuel cycle technology. The Isotype Separation System is a key element to demonstrate fusion fuel cycle performance at scale, and we look forward to contributing our significant experience in fusion engineering and tritium to help realise UKAEA’s ambitions.”
Stephen Wheeler, UKAEA Executive Director, said:
“UKAEA’s H3AT facility is an important milestone in the development of tritium technology.
“We are pleased to continue our partnership with AtkinsRéalis to deliver the Isotope Separation System at the H3AT Facility.
“This system will be the first industrial-scale tritium facility for fusion in the world and will enable industry and academia to study how to process, store and recycle tritium, a key fusion fuel.
“Fusion energy has great potential, not only as a source of abundant, low-carbon energy, but as a driver of economic activity for UK industry.
“By partnering with organisations like AtkinsRéalis, UKAEA is developing industrial fusion capability, which will enable the UK to become a global exporter of fusion technology.”
AtkinsRéalis will incorporate the use of the latest digital technology, including 4D design, digital twinning and AR/VR simulation to optimise delivery and help researchers and academia to better understand the design and performance of the system. The appointment builds on the firm’s international fusion expertise: in the UK an AtkinsRéalis-led consortium was appointed Engineering Delivery Partner for phase one of the UKAEA’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme, alongside AtkinsRéalis’ existing roles on the STEP programme as Power Infrastructure Partner, Commercial Pathways Partner, and Site Selection & Development Partner. AtkinsRéalis was also appointed to theU.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s fusion programme in a multi-disciplinary engineering consortium and has also supported the international fusion facility ITER since 2010 as Architect Engineer through the Engage consortium.
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Claire Coutinho, and Minister for Nuclear and Renewables, Andrew Bowie, announce industry competition to find engineering and construction partners for the UK’s prototype fusion energy plant.
