Novatron Fusion Group is strengthening ties in the UK after travelling to Culham Fusion Centre in Oxford to further collaboration with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).
The Stockholm firm was joined by the Swedish Ambassador, OSI London (Office of Science and Innovation) and fellow Swedish nuclear company Studsvik.
Tim Bestwick, Chief Development Officer at UKAEA, provided valuable insights to the delegation regarding UKAEA’s work, plus current collaborations in fusion and related industries. It comes after Novatron Fusion Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year with UKAEA, described as the ‘embodiment’ of the UK and Sweden’s broader Strategic Partnership – expanding cooperation on science and innovation, energy, trade and security and defence.
Both nations have committed to ‘exploring opportunities for collaboration on fusion energy’ noting the emerging technology’s ‘importance for long-term sustainable energy supply’.
The UKAEA is currently implementing the UK’s £650 million Fusion Futures Programme, to support the UK Fusion Strategy. The Programme is looking to establish new facilities at UKAEA’s Culham Campus in Oxfordshire to advance new technologies and expand fusion fuel cycle capabilities. It aims to foster world-leading innovation while stimulating general industry capacity through international collaboration and the development of future fusion powerplants.
Novatron Fusion Group’s new partnership with UKAEA includes regular site visits and staff exchanges including technology demonstrations alongside broader sharing on knowledge and some IP. Further investigations will be performed in parallel regarding collaboration on the next generation of machines. More specific focus areas include the design of fusion machines: particularly for heating of plasma, along with Diagnostics and Remote handling systems. More on the MoU here.
During the UK visit, Novatron Fusion Group representatives had the opportunity to tour RACE (Robotic Applications in Challenging Environments) to learn about other successful UK-Sweden collaborations, including work with the European Spallation Source ERIC (ESS) based in Lund.
It comes just weeks after Novatron Fusion Group hosted a UK delegation including Saba Hussein Gore, Craig Jantzen and Nicole Kritzinger for a tour of its Fusion lab at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, where construction is rapidly advancing on its first official test facility – the Novatron 1 (N1) – due to launch later in 2024.
