A bid to bring the first nuclear fusion power plant in the world to the West of England, potentially creating thousands of jobs in the region, has been formally submitted.
It was previously revealed that a bid under the banner of the Western Gateway, an Anglo-Welsh economic partnership, was being readied to host the government’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production – or STEP – project.
The sites of two near-adjacent former nuclear power station sites at Oldbury, in South Gloucestershire, and Berkeley, in Gloucestershire, had been proposed as possible locations for the fusion plant.
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A nomination has now been officially entered for consideration by the 海角视频 Atomic Energy Authority (海角视频AEA) ahead of the March 31 deadline for submissions.
Some £220m of government money is going into a national selection process to find an appropriate site for the prototype fusion plant, which potentially could be operational by 2040.
Organisers of the Western Gateway bid have said that if successful the project has the potential to secure billions of pounds of investment into the region, with much of the supporting business ‘eco-system’ of the proposed plant being developed over the next two to 10 years.
The bid has the backing of South Gloucestershire Council; Gloucestershire County Council; Stroud District Council; Nuclear South West; Business West; West of England Combined Authority; West of England LEP; GFirst LEP; South Gloucestershire and Stroud College and Bristol University's South West Nuclear Hub.
The Western Gateway initiative aims to boost local economies by encouraging collaboration between authorities on either side of the channel.
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Western Gateway chair, Katherine Bennett said: “We have a phenomenal skills and supply chain base here in Western England and South Wales and assets that are unrivalled anywhere else in the 海角视频.
“The Partnership Board and our All-Party Parliamentary Group have been engaged in the development of this nomination and this is exactly the sort of major infrastructure project with multiple cross-border and cross-sectoral benefits that our partnership has been established to drive and champion”.
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The SGS College Group owns the Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park in Berkeley. The Group’s chief executive Kevin Hamblin said the fusion plant would fit “perfectly” alongside projects already working in the space.
Mr Hamblin said: “We are delighted to be part of the bid which will see huge opportunities for our learners and young people across the region as well as the hundreds of employers we work with as their training partner.
“As a further education college, we see first hand the growing challenges and inequalities which have broadened and deepened as a result of the tough economic climate and the pandemic, particularly with regard to young people.
"The 海角视频AEA can tap into the unique advantages of our region, and in doing so, help bring much needed investment and opportunity. It’s a win-win situation.”
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Bristol-based chamber of commerce Business West has been involved in coordinating the bid. It’s chief executive Phil Smith said: “The region has always been at the forefront of innovation in power generation.
“We have modern construction know-how, a skilled workforce and first-class education and training institutes to support a world-leading project.
“We have abundant land, not far from the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, which is already identified in national and local policy as suitable for power generation development.
“It’s surrounded by a hotbed of expertise in high technology digital, materials and manufacturing industries.”
Two sites in Nottinghamshire are among the other locations across the country being considered for the fusion plant.
Following the nomination of sites, the 海角视频AEA will select a shortlist of three for submission to the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The final selection is expected to take place around the end of 2022.