‘Beacon of Bountiful, Green Energy’ — UK Will Attempt to Build World’s First Nuclear Fusion Plant

The United Kingdom will construct its first nuclear fusion power plant in a bid to provide the nation with “a beacon of bountiful, green energy,” Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg announced at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham on Monday.

Attempting to strike a balance between the government’s commitment to the green agenda and the supposed belief in free market principles, the Business Secretary said that the country needs “intelligent greenery, not religious zealotry”. Mr Rees-Mogg said that the country can achieve the lofty aim of Net Zero carbon emissions by the year 2050 through pursuit of new technologies: notably, nuclear fusion power.

Under the announced measures, the UK Atomic Energy Authority will construct the new Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) fusion prototype plant at the site of one of the country’s final remaining coal power plants at West Burton A, which is set to close for good in April.

“We have established ourselves as pioneers in fusion science and as a country our capability to surmount these obstacles is unparalleled,” Rees-Mogg said in his speech.

“We will build the UK’s first prototype fusion energy plant in Nottinghamshire, replacing the West Burton coal-fired power station with a beacon of bountiful, green energy.

“The plant will be the first of its kind, built by 2040 and capable of putting energy on the grid. And in doing so it will prove the commercial viability of fusion energy to the world.”

The Business Secretary acknowledged, however, that the “great hope” of achieving commercially viable nuclear fusion power is presently being prevented by “big” technological hurdles. Yet, he said that the new facility would provide the UK with a “potential ace up our sleeve” in competing with other countries in achieving the goal, adding that he believes that Britain has “unparalleled” expertise” in the race toward what many believe is the energy of the future.

Unlike traditional nuclear power plants, which operate with the principle of fission — a process that produces energy by the slamming of a neutron into an atom to split it into two smaller atoms, releasing heat and thus energy — nuclear fusion creates energy by ‘marrying’ two lighter atomic nuclei into a single heavier one, the same process which occurs inside the sun.

Currently, the technology is not viable, given current limitations on being able to create and contain the vast amounts of heat and pressure necessary for the process. Indeed, a publication of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 2017 dismissed the technology as unviable. However, many believe that fusion represents a potentially infinite source of energy with minimal pollution.

In April, a University of Oxford project, First Light, achieved fusion using relatively simple components and a budget of only £45 million, leading the group to claim that its experimental technology could be replicable at scale.

Then-Business & Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said at the time: “First Light Fusion’s British-born technology could potentially revolutionise power production in the coming decades. That is why this government is investing in UK science and innovation, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of the global scientific endeavour to make safe, clean, limitless fusion energy a reality.”

The announcement from Rees-Mogg comes amid the backdrop of a growing energy crisis in the UK, spurred in part by the supply chain disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine but also by decades of government mismanagement domestically, in which so-called green energy sources such as wind and solar have been prioritised over cheaper and more reliable forms of energy, such as fracking.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has said that her government will look to expand fracking throughout the country, however, she has said that local consent will be required before any project gets off the ground, meaning that it could be years before any benefits are seen by the public.

While the steps towards fusion and fracking will likely be welcomed by the right-wing of the Conservative party base, as both are years, if not decades, off from implementation, the pledges will do little to ameliorate the crisis facing the country. This week, the United Kingdom’s energy market regulator, Ofgem, warned that there is a “significant risk” of the country facing blackouts during the quickly approaching winter months.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka