Our Fusion Technology team is taking the UK’s fusion expertise into the age of power plant delivery. We enable industrial partners to test prototype components in the conditions found inside fusion reactors – getting a head start in the commercialisation of fusion energy.
We offer a suite of testing facilities and capabilities for advanced engineering and manufacturing in the UK nuclear fusion industry and beyond.
Some of the facilities are already operating and more will open in 2020/21, located at complementary UKAEA sites at Culham Science Centre and at the Advanced Manufacturing Park at Waverley, Rotherham.
Benefits
UKAEA Fusion Technology can assist UK engineering companies in:
- Winning contracts on international fusion projects such as the ITER experiment
- Contributing to the UK’s STEP power plant design project
- Trialling technologies for the wider nuclear industry and other related areas
Fusion Technology capabilities
UKAEA test rigs can validate fusion components under combined thermal, mechanical, hydraulic and magnetic loads.
Programme areas include:
CHIMERA
CHIMERA is a unique component loading machine, designed to test component prototypes in the simultaneous extreme temperature, heat flux and electromagnetic environment representative of fusion power reactor conditions.
Joining and Advanced Manufacturing
The Joining and Advanced Manufacturing laboratory will lead the development of critical joining and manufacturing technologies to enable the delivery of fusion:
- Component design and manufacture for extreme environments
- High heat flux testing and experimental validation of modelling
- Repair strategies for manufacture and operation
- NDT and health monitoring for complex geometries, materials and conditions
- Cross sector innovation and technology transfer
Materials Technology Laboratory
The Materials Technology Laboratory is the vanguard for fusion materials development in:
- Advanced materials testing and characterisation
- State-of-the-art small scale sample testing
- Leading design codes and standards for fusion
- Extreme environments materials design and selection
Special Techniques Group
Fusion Technology also encompasses Culham’s Special Techniques Group – a highly-skilled material joining facility. Special Techniques has more than 40 years of experience as an integral part of UKAEA’s nuclear fusion research programme. It also offers a service to other areas of science and to industry.
