The West of England could become the home of the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant, with the potential to create thousands of jobs in efforts to meet the Ƶ’s net zero carbon emissions targets.
A bid under the banner of the Western Gateway is being readied to bring the Government’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production – or STEP – project to two, near-adjacent, former nuclear power station sites at Oldbury in South Gloucestershire and Berkeley in Gloucestershire.
A partnership of local authorities, development bodies, landowners and the training and education sector across England and Wales has confirmed the bid, which will be submitted for consideration by the Ƶ Atomic Energy Authority (ƵAEA) by March 31.
Some £220m of government money is going into finding an appropriate site for the prototype fusion plant, which potentially could be operational by 2040.
The Western Gateway, which was launched by ministers in November 2019, is a proposed economic partnership between the West of England and South Wales.
The cross-border initiative aims to boost local economies by encouraging collaboration between authorities on either side of the channel.
It stretches from Swansea, Cardiff and Newport to Bristol, Bath, Swindon, Gloucester and Cheltenham, and aims to create a powerhouse to rival the North and Midlands.
Two sites in Nottinghamshire are among the other locations across the country being considered for the fusion plant.
The Western Gateway bid for the 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.
Andy Bates, who is coordinating the project for Bristol-based chamber of commerce Business West, said: “This will be a multibillion pound investment creating thousands of jobs both in the plant, and related services and industries.
“It is exactly the sort of project we need to help tackle challenges and inequalities across the region that have broadened and deepened as a result of the tough economic climate.
“We have abundant land already identified in national and local policy as suitable for power generation development.
“This is surrounded by a hotbed of expertise in high technology digital, materials and manufacturing industries and close to the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire.
"The region has always been at the forefront of innovation in power generation, and we have modern construction knowhow, a skilled workforce and first-class education and training institutes.
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“There is also a groundswell of political and community support. It is a perfect fit.”
If the Gloucestershire sites are successfully nominated there could be a further two years of assessments before the ƵAEA will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The successful site will be announced around the end of 2022.
Within 12 months of selecting a site, ƵAEA will establish a liaison office within the community including a stakeholder and community forum, to meet at least quarterly.
ƵAEA considers fusion energy to have several benefits including:
- Zero greenhouse gas emissions and no waste products.
- It’s only by-product is helium- an inert, non-toxic gas.
- Fusion energy is inherently safe. It is difficult to reach and maintain the precise conditions for fusion – if any disturbance occurs, the plasma cools within seconds and reaction stops.
- There is enough fusion fuel to power the planet for hundreds of millions of years.
- The raw materials for energy production are found in sea water and the earth’s crust.
- Fusion can produce energy on-demand and is not affected by weather.
- Fusion power stations require less land than other renewable technologies.
