Midlands universities support West Burton's Fusion Power Plant bid

The University of Birmingham is one of fifteen universities supporting a campaign to bring the UK’s first fusion power plant to Nottinghamshire.

Fifteen universities from across the Midlands have come together to add their weight to the Midlands Fossil to Fusion campaign to bring the UK’s first fusion power plant to West Burton A, near Retford in Nottinghamshire.

STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) is key to meeting the UK’s net-zero targets, and the government’s aim is to open nuclear fusion plants in 2040. Fusion has the potential to provide a near-limitless source of low-carbon energy by creating nearly four million times more energy for every kilogramme of fuel than burning coal, oil, or gas.

The Midlands Engine has identified low-carbon energy as one of the priority areas for the region. The Midlands’ energy sector contributes £5bn to the regional economy, supporting 30,000 direct jobs and 78,000 jobs in its supply chain - one third of all workers in the UK’s energy sector.

The Midlands universities, which comprise the Midlands Innovation and Midlands Enterprise Universities partnerships, also have a base of over 1,500 researchers involved in energy and sustainability. Significant investments have also been made in new research facilities, including those funded through the Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) programme. As a result, the Midlands now has the most energy research infrastructure in the UK, much of which is based in the region’s universities.