UK Atomic Energy Authority Strategy 2026-2030 This document represents the first strategy for the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) since its subsidiary company UK Fusion Energy Ltd (UKFE) was set up in 2024 (as UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd) and the remainder of UKAEA’s fusion research activities were considered to constitute UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory. This strategy has been published alongside UKFE’s first strategy. Global interest in fusion as a transformative source of low carbon, secure energy in the future continues to increase. In that context, UKAEA would welcome thoughts and ideas from partners in the UK and around the world on this new approach to its strategy. CONTENTS 1 FUSION AT A GLANCE (Page 4) 2 OUR PAST (Page 6) 3 OUR PRESENT (Page 7) 3.1 Context (Page 7) 3.2 The UK’s Fusion Strategy 2026 (Page 7) 3.3 UKAEA Group: UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory and UK Fusion Energy Ltd (Page 8) 4 OUR FUTURE: The STRATEGY OF UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory (Page 12) 4.1 Addressing fusion’s challenges (Page 12) 4.2 Four Strategic Themes: International, Research, Commercialisation, Industry (Page 19) 4.3 Place (Page 26) 4.4 People (Page 28) 4.5 Delivery 2026-2030 (Page 30) 4.6 Impact (Page 38) 4.7 Progress and Potential (Page 42) 5 YOUR VIEWS (Page 46) UKAEA leads the world in fusion research with a wide range of programmes covering plasma science, robotics, materials testing and development, and tritium science. Our scientists and engineers are working with partners in the UK and around the globe to develop fusion as a new source of clean energy for tomorrow's power plants. WHAT IS FUSION? • Fusion takes place in the hearts of stars and provides the power that drives the universe. • Our scientists and engineers are working with partners in the UK and around the globe – developing the technology to sustain this process on Earth to create a new source of sustainable energy. HOW DOES IT WORK? • Fusion energy can be generated in a variety of ways, with UKAEA focused on Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MCF). • Energy is released when the lighter deuterium and tritium atoms fuse together to form a heavier helium atom and a neutron. BENEFITS OF FUSION: • Low carbon: Fusion energy is carbon-free at the point of generation. • Continuous: Fusion energy is continuously deployable, as it does not depend on external factors such as wind or sun. • Sustainable: Fusion fuel is abundant in our seas and the Earth’s crust. • High fuel efficiency: Fusion produces more energy per gram of fuel than any other process that could be achieved on Earth. 2 Our past - Historical context and key changes: • 1920s: Arthur Eddington suggests that stars draw their energy from the fusion of hydrogen into helium. • 1930s: Rutherford and Oliphant at the University of Cambridge show the fusion of deuterium into helium and observe that “an enormous effect was produced”. • 1940-50s: Researchers start looking at possibilities of replicating the process of fusion on Earth. UKAEA starts the ZETA experiment in 1957. • 1960s: Culham Laboratory in Oxfordshire opens. Lev Artsimovich from the USSR presents results at the 1965 IAEA conference at Culham describing encouraging results from a device called a tokamak—many magnetic confinement fusion devices are now based on this design. • 1970s-80s: Small tokamak devices were then built at Culham such as TOSCA. European countries came together to design and build JET at Culham. • 1990s: JET sets 1st world records and the Culham laboratory operates the first full-sized spherical tokamak, START, followed by MAST. • 2000s: Several privately backed fusion companies launch. In the last decade: • August 2014: The RACE centre of excellence opened with the building following in 2016. RACE collaborates internationally to design, operate and deliver robotics for extreme environments. • May 2016: The Materials Research Facility (MRF) opens, enabling industrial and academic researchers to analyse the effects of irradiation on materials. • October 2019: The conceptual design phase for STEP, a prototype fusion power plant, begins. The Oxford Advanced Skills (OAS) centre opens on Culham Campus aiming to train up to 350 apprentices each year. • October 2020: The Fusion Technology Facility (FTF) in South Yorkshire opens, our first new research site outside of Culham since the 1950s, bringing highly skilled jobs, fostering collaborations with research organisations and engaging industry. • October 2020: MAST Upgrade starts operation with the engineering team achieving the Royal Academy Major Project Award. The upgrade introduced an innovative new plasma exhaust system, longer pulses, increased heating power and a stronger magnetic field. • May 2021: A second JET campaign using the fuel mixture of deuterium and tritium begins. • April 2022: The RAICo Programme Collaboration launches, using robotics and AI in nuclear decommissioning environments. • June 2022: Tritium research centre (H3AT) opens at Culham to lead the delivery of tritium lifecycle solutions and technology both in fusion and adjacent sectors. • October 2022: West Burton site announced as the future home of STEP. It will create thousands of highly skilled jobs in the area and attract high-tech industries. • December 2023: JET runs its last pulse (having achieved a world record in October) and starts repurposing and decommissioning. • November 2024: UKIFS Ltd is stood up as a subsidiary company of UKAEA to deliver the STEP programme and stimulate growth of a UK fusion energy industry. UKIFS Ltd was renamed UK Fusion Energy Ltd in March 2026. • March 2025: The partnership between UKAEA and Eni S.p.A is launched, to work on the world’s largest and most advanced tritium fuel cycle facility in the UK. 3.1 Context: The world needs to accelerate large-scale clean energy provision in order to meet growing demand and to build resilience to climate change and challenges to energy security. This drives a global imperative to explore all credible options for clean energy supply, both to meet net zero commitments and to sustain clean energy generation beyond 2050. Renewables and nuclear fission have an important role alongside other low carbon solutions but alone may not provide sufficient resilience or suit all energy markets around the world. Fusion energy represents a potentially advantageous clean energy solution in future global energy markets, as both a source of base load electricity and for wider industrial application. There have been promising advances in fusion in recent years, driven by: • Technical developments in fusion research, development and innovation (RDI) and in enabling manufacturing and computing capabilities; • The urgent need to decarbonise global energy production; • An increased understanding of the economic benefits arising in the short-term from fusion RDI activities and in the long-term when commercially relevant fusion energy is deployed. These advances are supporting significant increases in government and private investment into fusion around the world. Japan, Canada and Germany are developing or having published national strategies, the latter with €2bn of additional investment. China is estimated to have invested $6.5bn between 2023-2025 in advanced fusion research facilities and technologies. Fusion companies raised a total of $2.64 billion in the 12 months leading to July 2025. Total funding for 53 fusion companies stands at $9.766 billion, a five-fold increase since 2021. Despite this increase in commercial investment and the successes of publicly and privately funded fusion projects, the deployment of commercially relevant fusion energy into future energy markets is expected to face persistent technical and deployment challenges that are likely to require coordinated government intervention to overcome. 3.2 The UK’s Fusion Strategy 2026 It is in this context that the UK Government has recognised the opportunity for the UK to leverage its current position as a leader in fusion research and its enabling regulatory and planning frameworks in order to target a meaningful share of a future fusion energy market. In 2025 the UK Government confirmed a record £2.5 billion budget commitment for fusion RDI for the five-year period to 2030, as part of its Industrial Strategy. In March 2026 the UK Government published a revised UK Fusion Strategy. This articulates the Government’s objective for fusion: “to accelerate growth of the UK fusion industry to capture the economic and strategic benefits of fusion”. The UK Fusion Strategy emphasises focused effort in areas in which the UK has distinctive strengths while continuing to collaborate internationally to share knowledge and access valuable capabilities. The UK Fusion Strategy makes clear that at the heart of this national endeavour is the UK Atomic Energy Authority. 3.3 UKAEA Group: UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory and UK Fusion Energy Ltd 3.3.1 Who are we? The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2024. With a workforce of 2,600, UKAEA is the largest, most experienced single fusion organisation in the world. Between 1983 and 2023, UKAEA operated the Joint European Torus (JET), the most successful fusion energy facility to date. JET was the first fusion machine to operate using a fuel mix of 50-50 tritium and deuterium, which is crucial for future fusion power plants and to achieve predictable high-power performance, culminating in its record-breaking levels of fusion energy production in 2023. Over 40 years, JET was integral to building understanding in fusion science and technology, both globally and in the UK, where UKAEA developed facilities dedicated to specific fusion technologies, such as robotics, materials research and fuel systems alongside the long-standing plasma science programmes. UKAEA’s work was also strongly informed by its close involvement with the ITER and EU DEMO projects. UKAEA published its last strategy in 2022. The establishment in November 2024 of UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd (UKIFS) as a subsidiary company of UKAEA represented a critical milestone in the evolution of UKAEA. From this point, UKAEA considered itself effectively to be a corporate group, “UKAEA Group”. In March 2026 UKIFS was renamed UK Fusion Energy Ltd (UKFE). This name reflects the organisation’s progress in building and leading an industrial team to deliver STEP and successive fusion power plants by acting as a national fusion systems integrator. Other fusion research, development and innovation activities within UKAEA Group are collectively considered to comprise the UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory. 3.3.2 How is UKAEA Group responding to the UK Government Strategy? Delivering on the Government’s vision depends upon bringing together the experience and capacity of UK industry with the expertise of UKAEA to develop capability and solutions through the practical design and delivery of a pilot fusion power plant. This rationale is the basis of UK Fusion Energy (UKFE), which will partner with UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory and industry to develop the fusion technologies and capabilities required for STEP and successive power plants. This is detailed further in the new UKFE Strategy. At the same time, the depth of fusion’s technical challenges, the breadth of near-term adjacent scientific and economic opportunities, and the enduring importance of a sovereign RDI capability in maintaining competitiveness in a strategically critical future technology underline the importance of a national RDI function, as distinct from UKFE and its partners. This is the basis of UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory and its strategy, as described in Section 4. 3.3.3 Our mission and goals The UKAEA Group mission has been updated since the publication of the UK Fusion Strategy 2026. The UKAEA Group mission is: “To lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy to maximise scientific and UK economic benefit”. Structure of UKAEA Group: • UKAEA Combined Pension Scheme: UKAEA is responsible for the management of the Combined Pension Scheme (CPS) and related pension schemes. • HSIC Partnership: UKAEA Group has 50% control of a joint Public Sector Limited Partnership (HSIC PubSP), the public-sector partner in Harwell Science and Innovation Campus Ltd Partnership (HSIC). • UK Fusion Energy Ltd • UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory • AEA Insurance Ltd: 100% UKAEA-owned subsidiary currently utilised for paying historic employment claims. MISSION: To lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy to maximise scientific and UK economic benefit. UKAEA National Fusion Laboratory’s role: Deliver foundational research, technology and innovation in support of the UK fusion sector through world-leading fusion expertise and capability. UK Fusion Energy’s role: Deliver STEP and successive fusion power plants by acting as a national fusion systems integrator and working with industrial partners to develop and deploy the technologies and capabilities required. UKAEA GROUP STRATEGIC GOALS: • PROBLEMS: Solve challenges of sustainable fusion energy - from design through to decommissioning - with world-leading science and engineering. • PRODUCT: Develop technologies for fusion power plant and adjacent sectors. • PROSPERITY: Enable a thriving UK fusion industry that exports fusion technology around the world. • POWER PLANT: Design, deliver and operate fusion power plant. • PLACE: Grow clusters that accelerate innovation in fusion and related technologies. • PEOPLE: Nurture the talented, diverse people needed to deliver fusion energy. 4 Our future: The STRATEGY OF UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory The role of UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory in the UKAEA Group mission is “to deliver foundational research, technology and innovation in support of the UK fusion sector through world-leading fusion expertise and capability”. The remainder of this document describes the strategic approach of UKAEA’s National Fusion Laboratory in executing this role via a portfolio of activities. In summary: • The technical basis of the portfolio – the “what” – is driven by the challenges of fusion and UKAEA’s technical strengths (section 4.1); • The strategic basis of the portfolio – the “why” – is informed by four “themes” of activity – International, Research, Commercialisation and Industry – which are used to frame the scientific and economic benefits that can be achieved via these activities (section 4.2). These activities sit alongside UKAEA’s work as the Fusion Partner of UK Fusion Energy Ltd, an arrangement which leverages UKAEA’s fusion capabilities to develop fusion-specific technical solutions for the STEP programme; • The development of places (4.3) and people (4.4) are also core to UKAEA’s strategy. 4.1 Addressing fusion’s challenges 4.1.1 Challenges of fusion There are challenges in most areas of fusion. The technical challenges have been extensively explored in scientific literature and form the basis for much of the R&D around the world. The challenges vary between fusion concepts and between the intended purpose of any one fusion device and in how they can be addressed. UKAEA considers that there are four interrelated challenges which effectively apply to all mainstream approaches seeking to deploy fusion energy: 1. EFFECTIVE FUSION CORE: How to deliver sufficient power from the fusion core, in the face of plasma and materials challenges, to allow adequate exported power. 2. FUEL SELF-SUFFICIENCY: How to operate the tritium fuel cycle without requiring a sustained external supply of tritium. 3. INTEGRATION: How to manage the physical and performance interfaces of the many diverse components and systems in the face of uncertainties that in many cases are significant and potentially unquantifiable. 4. AFFORDABILITY AND ATTRACTIVENESS: How to ensure that the solutions to all the other challenges enable a realistically deployable plant. UKAEA’s operation of JET and MAST-U, its specialised tritium-capable infrastructure, and its historic and ongoing programmes and collaborations have together generated understanding of and expertise in fusion’s challenges as they apply across the lifecycle of a fusion device, from design to decommissioning. With UKAEA as the STEP Fusion Partner, UK Fusion Energy Ltd is working to apply at industrial scale this technical understanding of the fusion lifecycle, in an increasingly commercial context, to deliver STEP and successive fusion power plants. Aside from in its work as the STEP Fusion Partner, UKAEA applies this understanding primarily in the context of fusion-specific or focused research facilities (such as MAST-U, LIBRTI or the H3AT Tritium Loop). Lifecycle Stages: • Design and develop: A technical understanding and holistic perspective of fusion’s challenges is required to identify those conceptual and design factors which materially affect affordability and attractiveness and what research rigs and equipment may or may not be useful in testing these. • Integrate and Build: Specialist engineering capabilities and a dynamic organisational model are required to deliver with industry and other partners the test beds and rigs needed for fusion’s challenges. This should also be able to appraise the integrability of technical solutions into a full-systems fusion power plant. • Commission and operate: Multi-disciplinary operational teams, specialist infrastructure and interrelated theory and simulation capabilities are required to test, develop and operate complex and hazardous fusion research facilities. • Decommission and reuse: Technical and organisational capacity is required to decommission and repurpose infrastructure and process wastes promptly and safely and so contribute to fusion’s affordability and attractiveness. This applies to developing technical solutions and to informing the relevant regulation and policy frameworks. Advanced Computing Capability Across the Fusion Lifecycle ('In-Silico'): • Design and develop: Advanced computing enables UKAEA to understand fusion’s challenges and design solutions across the lifecycle of fusion, with the new Sunrise supercomputer representing a strategic UK AI capability focused on fusion. • Integrate and Build: As designs progress, high-fidelity digital twins open opportunities for UKAEA, UKFE and industry partners to integrate new components, control approaches and materials into full plant architectures before construction. • Commission and operate: Once facilities move into operation, advanced computing becomes essential to running complex fusion facilities safely and efficiently. Real-time data processing, simulation-backed forecasting and intelligent control tools strengthen operational decision-making. • Decommission and reuse: At end-of-life, advanced computing ensures responsible decommissioning by preserving long-term digital records, running predictive material and activation models, and providing the knowledge base needed to plan waste handling and repurposing accurately. Core areas of technical activity where UKAEA has particular historic strength: • PLASMA: Understanding and simulating numerically the fundamental behaviours of confined plasmas and the factors affecting the design, achievement and control of plasmas in fusion plants. • FUEL CYCLE: Understanding tritium behaviour and developing ex-vessel tritium handling systems and the tritium plant. • MATERIALS: Developing materials knowledge and solutions necessary to understand fusion materials and how to use them in principle in multi-material components that can withstand fusion conditions, and how to use neutron-materials reactions to breed new tritium fuel. Two further 'device-defining' technical areas: • FUSION TECHNOLOGIES: This includes high-temperature superconducting magnets, component qualification tools and neutronics and thermal hydraulics technologies, in the context of fusion. • ROBOTICS: This refers specifically to automated and autonomous remote operations and maintenance. Cross-cutting Technical Enablers: • Advanced computing: Identified as a critical technical enabler across all areas and lifecycle stages. • Fusion-relevant engineering: Design and delivery capability combined with specialist enabling infrastructure and understanding of codes and standards. Four strategic themes frame the scientific and economic benefits: 1. International 2. Research 3. Commercialisation 4. Industry All themes are dependent on UKAEA's enabling facilities, infrastructure, and the wider UK fusion skills base. Key commitments informed by the 2025 Spending Review: • Complete and operate major new fusion research facilities, most notably H3AT and LIBRTI, and other critical research rigs and laboratories; • Increase investment in the operational infrastructure of MAST-U as the UK’s premier fusion facility; • Maintain its fusion enabling infrastructure in line with operational criticality and affordability; • Continue to decommission JET in a way that maximises scope for infrastructure repurposing and innovation and helps to define requirements for future fusion power plant decommissioning, to a timetable subject to affordability; • Consider what future fusion research facilities may be developed in future years; • Work with UK and global partners and collaborators to exploit the Sunrise AI supercomputer and other computing facilities, to deliver on the Government’s Culham AI Growth Zone initiative. 4.2.1 International Knowledge and talent are internationally mobile. There are around 70 different nationalities working at UKAEA’s Culham campus. International collaborations build broader understanding, reduce risks of major long-term R&D programmes, and pool technical knowledge. UKAEA maintains partnerships with international laboratories across Europe, North America, and Asia (including Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, EUROfusion, and Japanese/Korean fusion institutes). UKAEA confirms it will continue to collaborate internationally in line with UK Fusion Strategy principles, prioritizing activities that pool capabilities, enable reciprocal facility access, and coordinate research while protecting UK knowledge assets. 4.2.2 Research Primarily research-focused activities delivered collaboratively across universities, international labs, and specialist institutes. UKAEA works with universities through jointly delivered projects, co-supervised PhD studentships (e.g., Fusion Power CDT at York, Fusion Engineering CDT at Manchester). UKAEA research extends to UKRI’s three priorities: • Curiosity-driven, foundational research • Strategic government and societal priorities • Supporting innovative companies Strategic commitments: • Deliver on planned research activities providing breadth and depth across fusion science. • Act as convenor and long-term partner in fusion and adjacent research. • Deepen relationships with UK universities and emphasize talent-led research. UKAEA focuses on identifying, developing, and commercially exploiting knowledge assets, ranging from scientific data and software to expertise and IP, into potential spin-outs, IP licences, and joint ventures. Key Elements: • Innovation Funnel: From ideas and idea assessment to innovation projects and IP protection & exploitation (licensing, spinouts, joint ventures, consultancy, open-sourcing). • Technology Transfer Hub: Serves as the proactive capability for market validation, development, and exploitation of knowledge assets. • The Fusion Cluster: UK initiative building sector connections to maximize technology transfer. Strategic commitments: • Continue to progress Innovation and Technology Transfer opportunities via Fusion Futures. • Appraise commercialisation potential across UKAEA to secure UKAEA-originated capabilities for future commercial exploitation. UKAEA works with the supply chain to build fusion capabilities and attract existing industrial capabilities into fusion. In the short to medium-term, demand is driven by pilot plants and experimental facilities, with emphasis on modelling, design, and subsystem procurement. Key Mechanisms & Programmes: • UKAEA-Eni Partnership: Combining UKAEA's tritium expertise with Eni's large plant building/operating expertise for the tritium fuel cycle facility. • Fusion Futures Industry Capability Programme: Engaged nearly 150 companies over two years (over 30 new to fusion). • Fusion Industry Programme: Supported early-stage commercialisation projects and facility access. • Fusion Supply Chain guide for SMEs published alongside the strategy. Strategic commitments: • Deliver projects across the portfolio to grow UK-based industrial capability. • Work closely with the Fusion Industry Association (FIA) and other partners. • Progress market engagement, particularly with SMEs, and develop new supply chain support proposals. UKAEA Group is transforming its sites into dynamic centres of activity brought together in a unified UKAEA Group Estates Strategy: • Culham Campus (Home of UKAEA): Hosts major research facilities (MAST-U, MRF, RACE, H3AT, LIBRTI). Designated as the UK's first AI Growth Zone under the STRIDE programme. Includes the JET Decommissioning and Repurposing Programme (2026-2030). • West Burton (Home of STEP): Chosen for the prototype fusion power plant in the East Midlands' 'Megawatt Valley', serving as the anchor for the Trent Supercluster innovation corridor. • Rotherham (UKAEA South Yorkshire): Strategic centre for fusion technology, focusing on industrial collaboration, skills development, and forging a 'fusion corridor' to West Burton. • Whitehaven (RAICo): Primary site in Cumbria supporting robotics and artificial intelligence solutions for nuclear decommissioning and fusion engineering. UKAEA Group currently employs around 2,500 people from ~70 nationalities. 4.4.1 Empowering People, Advancing Mission: • Implementing a revised pay and reward framework benchmarked against market standards. • Strategic workforce planning to attract, retain, and develop talent. • Fostering an inclusive, diverse, and people-centred culture guided by Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Wellbeing Strategies. 4.4.2 Fusion Opportunities in Skills, Training, Education & Research (FOSTER): • Flagship programme expanding the UK fusion skills pipeline. • Providing thousands of training/learning opportunities across apprenticeships, graduate, Masters, PhD, and post-doctoral roles. • Leveraging adjacencies with broader clean energy and engineering sectors. Spending Allocation (£2.48bn of £2.5bn UK Government fusion settlement for 2025/26 - 2029/30): • £1.3 billion: UK Fusion Energy (STEP delivery in partnership with industry, £700m directly into private industry). • £920 million: UKAEA's National Fusion Laboratory R&D infrastructure and facilities (MAST-U operation, H3AT completion, LIBRTI development/construction, JET decommissioning/repurposing, Culham site infrastructure). • £190 million: Internationally collaborative research, innovation, commercialisation, and industry support. • £125 million: AI Growth Zone (AIGZ) at Culham (£45m for 'Sunrise' supercomputer, £80m for computing activity and scaling). • £50 million: Developing fusion skills and training >2,000 people via FOSTER and secondments. 4.5.1 Flagship Targets: • May 2026: Commercialise UKAEA-developed tritium technology by partnering with industry. • Sep 2026: Deliver the Government's first AI Growth Zone at Culham, beginning operations of Sunrise fusion-dedicated AI supercomputer. • Jul 2027: Accelerate fusion skills base through FOSTER, reaching 2,000 supported training opportunities since 2024. • Dec 2027: Commercialise UKAEA-developed robotics capabilities for global fission, fusion, and clean energy markets. • Mar 2028: Build the LIBRTI facility (demonstrate Multiphysics Platform by July 2027 and complete building at Culham for neutron source installation by March 2028). • Jun 2028: Develop fusion physics knowledge with MAST-U, completing 5th and 6th experimental campaigns to support STEP design. Year-by-Year Objectives: STEP Fusion Partner: • 2026: Establish sovereign fusion data/AI infrastructure; demonstrate plausible solutions for plasma scenario showstoppers. • 2027: Verify key engineering model predictions against experiments; support virtual STEP digital architecture. • 2028: Validate STEP-relevant heating/current drive physics in MAST-U; deploy plasma control testbed; establish in-silico qualification and neutron irradiation data for materials. • 2029: Support mature digital twins/multi-scale models; complete novel solid breeder design; support MCTF and ARGO facilities. • By 2030: Supported the development of the detailed design of the STEP prototype power plant. International: • 2026: Renew/initiate formal collaborations with international labs/universities. • 2027: Transform partnerships into multi-year programmes and sign new cooperation agreements. • 2028: Increase collaborative data sharing; use Fusion Data Commons and new facilities to attract international users. • 2029: Showcase Sunrise as the international hub for 'AI for fusion science'; promote cross-facility campaigns. • By 2030: Integrated UKAEA facilities and expertise into global fusion programmes with reciprocal access and global standard-setting. Research: • 2026: Run 5th MAST-U campaign on exhaust, detachment, and ELM suppression; increase modelling/validation. • 2027: Fusion science demonstrations on MAST-U; establish reference digital twin and modelling frameworks. • 2028: Leverage integrated modelling for multi-physics problems; expand scenario analyses. • 2029: Expand validation experiments for fusion power plant physics/engineering. • By 2030: Sustained UK leadership in fusion science & technology with high-profile publications and validated design tools. Commercialisation: • 2026: Accelerate commercial exploitation to grow future revenues and spin-off pipeline. • 2027: Grow technical services contracts/licenses, especially in robotics. • 2028: Secure increased ROI from UKAEA innovations via IP leveraging and partnerships. • 2029: Mature revenue streams and cadence of spin-outs, licenses, and service contracts. • By 2030: Embedded commercial exploitation routinely spinning out companies and licensing technology. Industry: • 2026: Finalise agreements in tritium fuel cycle; renew supplier outreach. • 2027: Increase UK supply chain involvement in UKAEA projects. • 2028: Host external test campaigns (ELSA, high heat-flux); advance UK specialty materials capabilities. • 2029: Support increased numbers of UK companies delivering fusion components/services. • By 2030: Increased UK companies supplying global fusion programmes; joint ventures matured into independent enterprises. Facilities: • 2026: Complete LIBRTI building design and first concrete pour; begin Sunrise operations. • 2027: Demonstrate Multiphysics Platform for LIBRTI; assemble H3AT key systems and receive Uranium beds. • 2028: Complete LIBRTI building for neutron source installation; begin H3AT inactive tritium loop commissioning. • 2029: Integrate liquid-metal/breeder test rigs into LIBRTI; begin H3AT plant exploitation phase. • By 2030: Completed H3AT and LIBRTI as operational international user facilities. Infrastructure: • 2026: Begin JDR next phase (cabling, waste processing prep); procure STRIDE power network cabling. • 2027: Dispose 5 tonnes legacy solid waste; install/energize new Culham high-voltage substation. • 2028: Manufacture intermediate-level waste storage; complete remote handling design; implement site-wide electrical control. • 2029: Bring new JDR infrastructure into operation; start in-vessel decommissioning phase 1. • By 2030: Sustained JET decommissioning progress (50% waste packaged/characterised, in-vessel phase 1 complete); commissioned high-voltage power supply. Skills: • 2026: Recruit PhD/EngD candidates; roll out CROSS robotics apprenticeship program. • 2027: Increase technical training/apprenticeship numbers; establish new career pathways. • 2028: Expand training collaborations with academic and technical institutions; evaluate widening participation. • 2029: Continue training/mentorship at scale; capture knowledge transfer from retiring experts. • By 2030: Produced a new generation of fusion scientists, engineers, and technicians via FOSTER. Summary of technical outcomes by 2030 across technical groups: • Plasma (Anchor: MAST-U): - International: Reinforced strategic plasma collaborations with US and European partners. - Research: Generated understanding in plasma design/performance; enhanced simulation codes. - Commercialisation: Exploited MAST-U for control/operational solutions; harnessed datasets for AI-driven modelling. - Industry: Engaged UK supply chain in advanced fusion diagnostics. • Fuel cycle (Anchor: H3AT Tritium Loop, Active Tritium R&D Lab, Material Detritiation Facility): - International: Established H3AT loop as international user-access facility; Canadian and European collaborations. - Research: Generated datasets to underpin digital modelling and design. - Commercialisation: Delivered experimental facilities/data for tritium subsystems; improved process plant technologies. - Industry: Increased Tier 2/3 supplier capability; partnered with industry on new tritium opportunities. • Materials (Anchor: Materials Research Facility, LIBRTI): - International: Collaborations with USA, Japan, Belgium, Germany; established UK breeder blanket engineering test capability. - Research: Machine learning models for fusion materials and environments. - Commercialisation: Established LIBRTI multi-physics platform know-how; developed nuclear composites, coatings, shielding. - Industry: Developed industrial capabilities in fusion steels, tungsten, and composites. • Robotics (Anchor: RACE Culham, RAICo1 Whitehaven): - International: Handover of ESS active cell facility; completion of ITER hotcell service contract; CERN LHC beamline inspection; Fukushima Daiichi remediation. - Research: Adaptive control systems for dynamic loads, in-situ repair, tooling for cutting/welding. - Commercialisation: Solutions in maintainable magnets/seals; completed JET in-vessel robotic decommissioning. - Industry: Realised robotics commercial opportunities; developed radiation-hardened electronics. • Fusion Technology (Anchor: Fusion Technology Facility, ELSA, HIVE, HHF Laser): - International: Material qualification routes via global standards bodies; integrated design leadership. - Research: Verification and validation datasets, models, and skills. - Commercialisation: Expanded commercial testing and component qualification services. - Industry: Completed delivery of test and qualification facilities. Economic Impact Evidence: • Gross Value Added (GVA) impact of UKAEA fusion R&D activities between 2009/10 and 2024/25 was £3.4 billion against UK Government spend of £2.0 billion. • Supported an average of 6,000 jobs per year (2020/21–2024/25), with 60% in the UK supply chain. • FOSTER in 2024/25: 31 PhDs supported, 2 university Master's partnerships, ~50,000 school students engaged. • Potential £3-12 trillion global capital investment in fusion power plants (2050-2100). Benefits by 2030: • Increased technology maturity of prototype power plant • Growth of UK-based industrial capability, inward investment, and high quality jobs • Higher skilled workforce and greater know-how • Increased productivity through economic clustering and regional growth • Creation and commercial exploitation of IP in industry • Advanced science, UK knowledge leadership, and reduced technological risk Portfolio Logic Model Structure: • Inputs -> Activities -> Outputs -> Benefits -> Strategic Goals (Power Plant, Problems, Product, Prosperity, Place, People). 4.7 Progress and Potential 4.7.1 Understanding progress towards fusion: Four categories of fusion initiatives: 1. Exploration and Innovation (discovery-driven research for affordability/feasibility) 2. Enabling Platforms (foundational multi-concept capabilities) 3. Pilot Plant Design and Build (fast-paced schedule-driven demonstration) 4. Commercial Deployment Design, Build and Maintenance (long-term cost, reliability, scalability) 4.7.2 Understanding the potential of fusion: Evaluating global energy market penetration post-2050 and market pull factors (high population density, limited land/renewables, clean baseload demand). 5 Your views: UKAEA invites feedback, partnerships, and insights from fusion researchers, industry developers, suppliers, SMEs, and adjacent innovators. Contact: [email protected] Website: www.gov.uk/ukaea