Construction Milestone at Fusion Technology Site

A construction milestone has been reached at the Fusion Technology site in Yorkshire. External construction at the site has completed, with the building being handed to UKAEA in September, where they will begin the second phase of fit-out.

The £22 million building, located in Rotherham, is strategically placed in order to engage industry in commercial fusion development. Located at the heart of the UK’s advanced manufacturing region, it will initially bring 40 jobs to the area and will foster further collaboration with research organisations including the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the Welding Institute.

The 25,000 sq ft facility at the Advanced Manufacturing Park will join companies such as Rolls-Royce, and McLaren Automotive and will capitalise on industry experts in the region.

The main role of the new facility will be to develop and test technologies for fusion materials and components – i.e. novel metals and ceramics. These will then be tested and evaluated under conditions simulating the inside of a fusion reactor, including high heat flux, in-vacuum, and strong magnetic fields.

The site will also help UK companies win contracts as part of ITER, the key international fusion project being built in the South of France. Looking ahead, it will also enable technology development for the first fusion power plants, which are currently being designed.

Damon Johnstone, Head of UKAEA Yorkshire, said: “We are delivering the new facility at pace, with major milestones on building mobilisation and recruitment for the new facility proceeding to plan. There are exciting times ahead; the Fusion Technology facility in Rotherham will be unique in the world and as well as delivering cutting-edge R&D it will help to seed the development of a UK supply chain for fusion. The welcoming of UKAEA to the Advanced Manufacturing Park has been exceptional and is a credit to Sheffield and Rotherham councils, the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and developers Harworth Ltd.

“We can’t wait to get going and have no doubt the hub of manufacturing excellence being created in the area will prove to be of great importance to the commercialisation of fusion power.”

Find out more at: https://ccfe.ukaea.uk/technology/fusion-technology/

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