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Britain and the United States are joining forces to accelerate the development of nuclear fusion, but why are the two countries making this move now? The main reason is the enormous potential of fusion to provide almost limitless clean energy while creating thousands of jobs and attracting major investment.
The two countries are expected to sign two new agreements at the Global Fusion Summit in London today. The partnership could help support more than 10,000 jobs across the UK by 2030, while strengthening Britain's position in the emerging global fusion industry.
Nuclear fusion is the same process that powers the Sun. It generates energy by combining hydrogen atoms to form helium. Scientists have been trying for decades to recreate this reaction on Earth because, if it can be controlled commercially, it could provide a powerful source of low-carbon energy.
However, making fusion work as a practical power source remains extremely difficult. The process requires scientists to control unstable plasma at temperatures above 100 million degrees Celsius. Although researchers have managed to achieve fusion reactions for limited periods, turning those breakthroughs into a continuous and commercially viable power plant remains a major engineering challenge.
So what is behind the UK-US agreement? Both countries want to speed up progress towards commercial fusion by combining their scientific expertise, advanced computing capabilities and artificial intelligence resources.
The first agreement will establish a new supercomputing partnership between the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in the United States.
The partnership will bring together expertise in AI, high-performance computing and fusion science to help researchers solve some of the most difficult technical problems involved in developing commercial fusion energy.
The second agreement will see Britain and the US commit to closer cooperation on the regulation of fusion energy. This is important because clearer regulatory arrangements could make it easier for companies to invest in the technology and help the industry grow.
The Labour Government says fusion could eventually provide a secure source of clean energy for generations without producing carbon emissions during operation.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said fusion could provide virtually limitless clean energy while supporting more than 10,000 jobs in the UK by 2030. He said stronger cooperation with the US would help accelerate the race towards commercial fusion, attract investment and create new opportunities for British businesses.
Chris Elmore, Minister for the Americas, said the UK's relationship with the United States was already supporting economic growth and thousands of jobs. He added that combining expertise in fusion, AI and advanced computing would help British businesses and researchers gain access to investment, knowledge and international partnerships.
The latest announcement comes alongside several other developments showing growing international interest in Britain's fusion sector.
The University of Birmingham and the US-based Electric Power Research Institute have secured a £2.63 million collaboration focused on developing fusion materials.
Japan's largest fusion company, Kyoto Fusioneering, has also announced an investment of up to £3 million in the UK.
The investment will support the development and testing of materials for the UK Government-backed STEP programme, which is working on the design of a prototype fusion power plant.
Britain is also publishing its UK Fusion Investment Prospectus, aimed at encouraging companies and investors to put money into the sector and helping transform the country's world-leading fusion research into a new clean-energy industry.
The wider goal is clear: the UK and US want to move fusion from experimental laboratories towards commercial power generation, while positioning their businesses and researchers to benefit from what could become a global industry worth up to £12 trillion.
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