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Challenges such as machine operation in the strong magnetic fields of tokamak devices and creating protective ‘bioshields’ for fusion plants were tackled with new technology developed in the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA) Fusion Innovation Challenge.
The project, also involving five companies, ‘threw down the gauntlet’ to industry experts to help unlock fusion’s huge potential to supply sustainable energy.
The authority announced ‘first plasma’ at the Mast Upgrade fusion energy experiment in October last year following a seven-year build, a vital step for the future energy source.
The recent £350,000 scheme saw eleven contracts on eight topics awarded to Atkins, Frazer-Nash Consultancy, IDOM, Jacobs and M5Tec. The firms collaborated with other members of the supply chain, including industrial and research organisations.
Other challenges tackled during the project included designs for transferring heat in pipes within a tokamak complex.
UKAEA’s chief technology officer Tim Bestwick said: “Fusion could make a vital contribution to future low-carbon energy production. Collective problem-solving and the latest innovations in materials and other technologies will help us to overcome the remaining technical challenges.
“This successful pilot scheme has seen UKAEA working with industrial partners to address such challenges. It is an approach we believe is very much part of the future of fusion energy development.”
Following the success of the pilot, UKAEA said it plans to open up more innovation challenges as it strengthens collaboration with the private sector.
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