Oxfordshire is home to some of the world's best and most innovative technologies, helping to address many of the planet's most pressing issues, as recently demonstrated by the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine.
But one key area in which the region is paving the way for new discoveries is fusion – a carbon-free energy source produced by fusing hydrogen atoms together in a process which releases energy.
As a renowned leader within Oxfordshire's world-leading innovation ecosystem, Tim Bestwick – Chief Technology Officer and Director of Strategy, Communications and Business Development for the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) – recently shared his thoughts on what makes Oxfordshire’s fusion sector a role model globally on the OxLEP podcast, OxTalks.
A natural source of power
Few are fully-aware that fusion energy is what keeps the planet alive. In fact, all energy from the sun powering our world has been created by the process of fusion.
Tim says: “When we think of nuclear-led energy, we largely think of fission, which is the process that powers the stations which produce some of our electricity today. That process works by splitting heavy atoms like uranium to release large amounts of energy.
“Fusion on the other hand, is a different physical process altogether, which tries to replicate the great energy process of the sun.
“The fusion method takes lighter atoms, such as hydrogen, to form a heavier one – usually helium. This process is very appealing from a safety perspective, as it is difficult to sustain and it will naturally stop if there’s a disturbance, so it can’t run away or create a chain reaction like fission.”
The fact that it does not emit harmful substances like CO2 or produce long-lived radioactive waste also makes it an ideal source of green power.
Significant research community
Oxfordshire has long been home to some of the most significant developments in energy research, with many thriving clusters in energy and energy storage solutions located in the county.
One such cluster is built around the world-leading Culham Campus, home to the UKAEA and the UK’s centre for fusion energy research.
The area’s critical mass of operators in the fusion field helps to create a major pull for businesses to come and join those already leading the way within the thriving energy sector.
Tim added: “Culham is a campus outside the village of Culham, which has been home to JET (Joint European Taurus) and many other science facilities that the UKAEA has been operating over the years in the quest for fusion.
“More recently, we have entered into agreements with companies to build their experimental facilities there – so the first of those companies was General Fusion and more recently we've signed agreements with First Light Fusion and Tokamak Energy, both to build their experimental facilities at Culham.
“There's a huge amount of pre-competitive collaboration to be had. We're all really trying to address a huge prize and we all understand that there's a lot of collaboration to be done on the way.
“I think it's extraordinary and great that First Light Fusion, Tokamak Energy and General Fusion – and the UKAEA – are collaborating and we're all doing it at the Culham Campus. I very much hope and it's our intent that more of that will happen.
Fusion infrastructure
Another major driver for the sector is the access to talent, funding and infrastructure, and Oxfordshire has significant access to all three.
The fusion cluster in Oxfordshire is closely supported by the UK Government who have pledged to invest £184 million by 2025 in new fusion facilities, infrastructure and apprenticeships at the Culham Campus, and at least £400m to wider research projects in the next few decades.
The fusion sector is rapidly accelerating, and Oxfordshire is at the heart of that, though there are challenging times ahead according to Tim Bestwick.
Tim told OxTalks: “We at UKAEA and within the fusion cluster certainly are trying to do things to raise public awareness.
“We're very mindful that we want to raise the awareness of fusion as a potential energy source that could really make a big difference and has lots of attributes that make it extremely exciting for the challenges we face. But on the other hand, we don't want to over promise because it's not going to be ready you know next year, it's not going to be ready the year after, it's a long-term haul.
“So we're trying to tread that balancing act of engaging people in it, trying to generate interest, trying to generate enthusiasm because we need that support without sort of over promising what we do and I think we're on that journey and I hope that gradually public awareness of this opportunity is increasing.”
What is clear, is that Oxfordshire will continue to play an important part of that as the global community continues to seek solutions to protect our climate.