Construction of the Fusion Demonstration Plant at Culham is anticipated to begin in 2022, with operations beginning three years later.

Canadain fusion energy pioneers General Fusion picked the Culham campus, which is owned and managed by the UK Atomic Energy Authority because it has been a centre of major fusion research effort.

General Fusion and UKAEA intend to collaborate on a range of fusion energy technologies for power plant design and operation.

The plant aims to harness the same energy created by the sun from the fusion of hydrogen atoms to create helium.

The process being tested will compress superheated hydrogen plasma held within a liquid metal to fuse the atoms generating huge amounts of heat to create steam and drive turbines.

Plans to build the demonstration plant is the culmination of more than a decade of advances in General Fusion’s technology, and represents a major milestone on the company’s path to commercialisation.

“Coming to Culham gives us the opportunity to benefit from UKAEA’s expertise,” said Christofer Mowry, CEO at General Fusion.

“By locating at this campus, General Fusion expands our market presence beyond North America into Europe, broadening our global network of government, institutional, and industrial partners. This is incredibly exciting news for not only General Fusion, but also the global effort to develop practical fusion energy.”