UK declines invitation to join European ITER fusion project

The UK government has declined an offer to rejoin the ITER fusion experiment as a full member, following its exclusion from the project after leaving the EU. Instead, the UK will concentrate on domestic fusion initiatives in both the public and private sectors.

ITER, the world’s largest nuclear fusion experiment, is currently being built in France and is expected to be finished by 2025 after facing significant delays. It is funded by an extensive international collaboration involving countries such as China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United States, and the European Union.

Previously, the UK had access to ITER through its EU membership. However, post-Brexit, the UK is no longer part of the EU. Negotiations with the EU have disclosed that the UK will rejoin Horizon Europe, a joint scientific research effort, but not Euratom, which is focused on nuclear energy.

The Head of Euratom Research, Elena Righi, has advocated for the UK’s formal return to the ITER experiment. However, the UK government supports its decision to opt-out, believing that private sector investment in fusion research is a more efficient and cost-effective approach than utilizing commercial reactors.

Righi made these remarks during an event in Oxfordshire, England, celebrating the accomplishments of the JET fusion reactor, which was permanently shut down last year and is now slated for decommissioning.

“The European Commission and the Council of the EU express regret in their joint statement over the UK’s decision not to participate in the Euratom project and the Fusion for Energy joint venture,” stated Righi. “The EU institutions have strongly advocated for the UK’s participation in all four programs starting in 2028, including ITER and the European Commission’s three other large-scale fusion research projects,” he added.

“This move will facilitate a unified European fusion community to continue its collaborative efforts and resolve the existing disconnection between UKAEA participation and eurofusion [the European fusion research group], ultimately enabling more substantial UK integration in ITER’s construction and operation. “

New Scientist reached out to the European Commission for clarification on Righi’s comments, but did not receive a response.

During the same event, Andrew Bowie, the British Atomic Energy Minister, highlighted the UK’s support for refraining from rejoining the ITER project and reiterated the allocation of £650m for UK alternatives to Euratom. This funding will be utilized for a blend of private and public research endeavors.

“The ultimate goal of all the experiments, all the research, and the significant work at JET is to integrate into the power grid and supply electricity to homes and businesses,” Bowie emphasized. “Substantial private sector involvement will also be crucial to make fusion power commercially viable and introduce solar energy into households.”

“The decision not to rejoin was the right one. We believe that the UK has progressed to a stage where rejoining would divert resources, time, and funds away from advancing the fusion project. It wasn’t an ideological choice but a pragmatic one,” he stated.

Mr. Bowie mentioned that the UK is open to exploring new collaboration methods with ITER, including personnel exchanges, but explicitly ruled out re-entering the project officially, affirming the government’s support for this decision.

The UK is also developing plans for a fusion power plant, known as the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), which is projected to generate net energy gain by 2035, surpassing input electricity production within five years.

Juan Matthews, a researcher at Britain’s Dalton Institute for Nuclear Research at the University of Manchester, has expressed optimism over the potential of spherical reactors like STEP to offer smaller and more cost-effective fusion power compared to larger designs like ITER.

“We’ve faced ongoing delays. We seem stuck in the ‘big project syndrome,’ where plans go awry and costs escalate. Improved communication between the STEP initiative and ITER could pave the way for power generation achievements ahead of Europe. I am very hopeful about the utilization of spherical tokamaks,” Matthews elaborated.