Fusion Strategy

Michael Shanks Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)]

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is today publishing “A New Energy Revolution: The UK’s Plan for Delivering Fusion Energy”.

This strategy builds on the Government’s record £2.5 billion investment in fusion research and development secured at the spending review, supporting the UK’s growing fusion industry and reaffirming Britain’s leading position in the global race for fusion energy. We are turning the promise of abundant fusion energy into a reality, as we take long-term decisions while delivering tangible benefits now; for example, we are supporting over 10,000 UK jobs by 2030, driving inward investment, and giving industry the confidence to take fusion from the lab to the grid.

In support of this strategy, UK Industrial Fusion Solutions, to become UK Fusion Energy Ltd, has announced details of the STEP—spherical tokamak for energy production—construction partner that will build the world-leading fusion energy plant on the site of a former coal plant in West Burton in Nottinghamshire. Large-scale construction is expected to start by the end of the decade, with jobs supported in the near term through the building of research and development test facilities for key technologies and site preparation.

We are also harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to accelerate fusion design, modelling, and operations. The Government are investing £45 million to fund the world’s most powerful fusion-dedicated AI supercomputer, developed in collaboration between UK Atomic Energy Authority and the University of Cambridge.

We will drive progress towards fusion deployment by making the UK the first to offer a market framework for fusion energy, giving support and certainty to fusion developers as they make capital-intensive investments in new technology. We will work with industry, consumer groups and others to develop options to provide confidence to investors and ensure a fair deal for consumers.

I fully intend for the UK to be the home of fusion skills and innovation, backed by £50 million for skills development to train over 2,000 people in fusion-related disciplines, from apprentices to postdoctoral fellows, ensuring a comprehensive fusion skills pipeline to supply the sector at all levels.

This strategy underscores the UK’s role as a global player in fusion energy, and we intend to develop that further, anchoring a supply chain in the UK that can serve a global industry, as well as attract inward investment. Our forthcoming investment prospectus will set out exactly where opportunities lie for investors, developers and the wider fusion sector, and what capabilities, skills, companies and support they can draw on. As a signal of confidence in the UK fusion programme, the strategy is accompanied by a set of wider announcements, including UKAEA and Eni agreeing to establish a joint venture to advance fusion energy technologies. This new strategy also sets out for the first time how the Government’s record-breaking investment into fusion of over £2.5 billion will be spent.

Together, this package represents the UK’s clean energy superpower mission in action. It demonstrates that the Government are taking a bold and practical approach, addressing the asks of industry, creating the conditions for a globally leading UK fusion sector, and maintaining the UK’s position at the forefront of global fusion commercialisation.

I will place a copy of the fusion strategy in the Libraries of the House.

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