Private company set up to oversee UK's prototype fusion reactor
- Reference: 1675692010
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/02/06/step_fusion_private_firm/
- Source link:
Announced today by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ( [1]BEIS ), the newly established UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd (UKIFS) will have responsibility for delivering the prototype nuclear fusion facility, known as the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP).
The STEP project, which was [2]first revealed just over a year ago, is expected to have completed construction by 2040, so don't hold your breath for the "near limitless, low-carbon energy" the program promises to deliver as part of a path to net-zero carbon dioxide emissions and driving economic growth across the UK.
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Nevertheless, the government is enthusiastic about the project, stating that the program is intended to pave the way for the commercialization of fusion and the potential development of a fleet of future plants around the world, which could "drive forward the UK's global leadership in this innovative sector."
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The site, at the West Burton power station in Nottinghamshire, was [6]announced last October after being whittled down from an initial list of 15 prospective locations. The government is supposed to be providing £220 million ($264 million) in funding for the first phase of STEP, which will involve the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) producing a concept design by 2024, as we reported at the time.
On a visit to the site, Science Minister George Freeman urged energy companies and investors to recognize the advantages fusion energy could have for both the UK and the wider world.
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"Fusion energy now has the potential to transform our world for the better by harnessing the same process powering the sun to provide cheap, abundant, low-carbon energy across the world," he said in a statement.
Claiming the UK as a world leader in fusion science and technology, Freeman said the program aims to turn fusion from cutting edge science into a "billion-pound clean energy industry" that could potentially create thousands of UK jobs across the UK and grow exports, as well as lead to regeneration for the former coalfield site through what he referred to as a "fusion innovation cluster" in Nottinghamshire.
[8]America's nuclear fusion 'breakthrough' is super-hot ... yet far from practical
[9]UK politico proposes site for prototype nuclear fusion plant
[10]South Korea takes massive step toward sustainable nuclear fusion reactions
[11]Joint European Torus more than doubles fusion record with 59 megajoules
"That's why I'm delighted to announce the creation of Industrial Fusion Solutions as the vehicle for industrial development and deployment of this technology as a new clean energy source in the coming decades," he added.
Industrial Fusion Solutions was incorporated on January 27 as a private limited company, according to details filed at Companies House, with two directors listed: Ian Chapman and Timothy Bestwick.
That's Professor Sir Ian Chapman, UKAEA chief executive, while Tim Bestwick is UKAEA's chief technology officer and director of Strategy, Communications & Business Development.
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"The establishment of Industrial Fusion Solutions will enable STEP to accelerate its journey towards delivery of electricity from fusion energy to the grid. The new body, which will be formed over the next 18 months, will be established as a programme delivery organisation, driving performance and pace and engaging industry in this endeavour," Chapman stated.
The move comes after scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the US announced the achievement of [13]fusion ignition at their National Ignition Facility in December, meaning it produced more energy from fusion than that required to initiate the reaction for the first time in a controlled experiment.
The UK remains part of the international [14]ITER fusion research project , located in France, but the STEP prototype will feature a different design with a compact spherical tokamak that is said to comprise a tighter magnetic field than that seen in the doughnut-style designs of other reactors.
Freeman also announced a commitment to build a STEP Skills Centre at the West Burton site, which aims to provide as many opportunities as possible to people in the area. ®
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[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/26/uk_step_fusion_site/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y@EyMGgCJL0a7Dsp6CEgogAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y@EyMGgCJL0a7Dsp6CEgogAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y@EyMGgCJL0a7Dsp6CEgogAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/05/reesmogg_proposes_site_for_prototype/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y@EyMGgCJL0a7Dsp6CEgogAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/14/nuclear_fusion_doe/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/05/reesmogg_proposes_site_for_prototype/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/08/korea_sustained_fusion/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/09/jet_fusion/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y@EyMGgCJL0a7Dsp6CEgogAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/14/nuclear_fusion_doe/
[14] https://www.iter.org/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
£20bn over 20 years doesn't buy you that many staff, in the grand scheme. Assuming the all up cost to hire and equip a mid level professional is at £100k/yr, that's approx 10,000 staff for 20 years.
Hinkley point apparently has about 6300 staff working on it, so assuming the project is of similar size; £20bn doesn't leave much for capex and R&D.
Quite where these people are coming from to work on pie-in-the-sky projects when there are desperate shortages in projects needed now, I'm open to suggestions.
As one gets older the cynicism goes up. As much as the scientist would like me to see this fly, the pragmatist says Pork Barrel Fund.
Ho hum!
You've done your calculations net of any employer contributions. If you include those, then you get even fewer rocket atomic engineers. But the bigger problem may well be, as you say, actually finding people with necessary skills. No doubt the minister has a cunning plan…
... actually finding people with necessary skills. No doubt the minister has a cunning plan…
China, India and Pakistan probably have quite a lot. But it seems a long-term project. Many years ago, I got to go on an open-day to a nuclear power plant. This both amazed and disappointed me. I saw the control room with indicators showing the core temperature. They didn't read thousands of degrees. How disappointing. But the guide was great, explained lots, and I considered a future career in nuclear science or engineering. Then of course we abandoned most of it, rather limiting future career opportunities. So I did a different engineering degree instead.
Which is I think still the problem. The government wibbles muchly about STEM, and there's probably even an app for it. But physics is kinda hard, especially if career options are still limited. So I think we really need a feeder scheme to prepare future nuclear physicists. Which would seem a relatively low-cost option, ie dangle a bunch of bursaries offering free degrees of freedom, and in a decade or two, we'll hopefully have a bunch of people trained up to do this kind of research and work. Otherwise they'll just have to be imported from countries that seem to value education more than we do, or our best and brightest will be tempted to go work overseas.
Looks like there is a skills gap in the animation sector - where will they get the promo videos of fusion happening made?
[1]https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/feb/06/aardman-uk-animators-may-have-to-move-abroad
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/feb/06/aardman-uk-animators-may-have-to-move-abroad
The government wibbles muchly about STEM, and there's probably even an app for it. But physics is kinda hard, especially if career options are still limited
If you're bright enough to be a physicist then there are much more lucrative jobs in finance available. Most of which won't get the planet out of its climate predicament or make better cancer treatments etc. though...
To be fair, I doubt many of the construction staff at Hinkley C are on £100k salaries.
Wow this lot really love thier neoliberal economics
Let's all privatise things that don't even exist yet!
All aboard the gravy train, get your snout into that barrel, boys!
When I see that ITER cost is projected to be from €18 to €22 billion and probably higher, I wonder if the UK government is ready to invest that much by itself.