Scottish Business Can Benefit From Fusion Of Science And Industry

9th December 2006

A new €10 billion international project to harness fusion energy can offer major opportunities for Scottish companies. That will be the message to a delegation from the Scottish Executive when they visit the headquarters of the UK's fusion research programme on Monday 11th December.

Allan Wilson MSP, Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, will join representatives from Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprise at Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire for a briefing on the commercial prospects for hi-tech and engineering firms in the quest to develop fusion as a clean, sustainable energy source for the future.

The next-generation ITER fusion reactor, which was approved by seven of the world's leading economies last month, is expected to generate around €2 billion in contracts to companies in the European Union during its construction in France over the next decade. The operating phase that follows will give further opportunities for industry.

UKAEA, which operates Europe's leading fusion facility, JET (Joint European Torus), as well as Britain's domestic fusion programme, is establishing contacts with Scottish businesses to help them win a share of this and other work. As well as ITER, ongoing fusion research projects in the UK and in Europe use a wide variety of advanced engineering and scientific products and services.

Allan Wilson said: "The International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER) will be a genuinely ground-breaking project. The Joint European Torus (JET) is a testament that technology is moving swiftly from science fiction to science fact.

As Scotland seeks to become a world leader in renewable energy, we already have considerable skill in the energy industry at our disposal, which we have already demonstrated in our nuclear industry and in Aberdeen through our exploration of oil and gas.

Some Scottish companies have already expressed an interest in ITER. There are a number of opportunities in engineering and innovation to be had, and I want to see even more Scottish interest in what could well be the future of world energy."

Dan Mistry, UKAEA's Fusion and Industry Manager, said: "The investment in ITER means that there has never been a better time for Scottish engineering and technology firms to compete for fusion business. The Minister's visit will be an excellent chance to strengthen links and raise awareness of the opportunities that are available."

UK and fusion research
Fusion research in the UK is conducted by UKAEA at the Culham Science Centre. The Centre is home to the UK's fusion programme most notably the MAST (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) experiment. It is also home to the world's largest fusion experiment, the Joint European Torus (JET), operated under the European Fusion Development Agreement.

UK industry has already played a significant role in fusion research. It has supplied plant, equipment and technical expertise to the UK's fusion programme, JET and other European and international fusion projects.

UKAEA's Fusion and Industry programme alerts companies to commercial opportunities from fusion projects at home and abroad.

For more information on UK fusion research visit www.fusion.org.uk.

For more information on UKAEA Fusion and Industry visit: www.fusion.org.uk/industry.