The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has secured planning permission from South Oxfordshire District Council for a fusion demonstration plant at Culham Science Centre.
The multi-million pound facility will be built and operated by Canadian-based General Fusion, which is developing a fusion power device based on magnetised target fusion (MTF) technology – “a form of fusion which uses the process that powers the sun to create carbon-free, safe and abundant electricity”.
Professor Sir Ian Chapman, CEO of UKAEA, said: “UKAEA welcomes this milestone as it aligns with our strategy to create clusters that accelerate innovation in fusion and related technologies, and support public-private partnerships to thrive. It also builds upon our heritage of hosting major fusion facilities here at our Culham Campus.”
Steven Sensecall, Carter Jonas’ head of planning and development for the South and South West, who secured planning for the UKAEA, added: “We were extremely pleased to have helped in achieving planning consent for this important facility which will deliver safe, clean and plentiful energy for the UK and beyond, and in doing so, assist considerably in tackling climate change.
“Carter Jonas has worked extensively at Culham Science Centre for many years and recently secured the release of the site from the green belt and its allocation in the newly adopted local plan as a strategic employment site. This new planning policy framework has established the platform for further ground-breaking science and technology related development at Culham, such as this facility.”
The wider project team for the plant includes AL_A Architects, Fabrik Landscape Architects, ARUP, Ecology By Design, Donald Insall Associates, Hatch, BSP Consulting and Tree Frontiers.
