Fusion funding and tech surge
Momentum in fusion ramped up this week — UK scientists tested a promising new magnet prototype while the government earmarked £2 billion for quantum and fusion and the European Commission fast‑tracked over €330 million for fusion and nuclear innovation, signaling a major public push toward commercial fusion research. — regional investments include a planned £51 million National Cryogenic Facility at Daresbury to support quantum and fusion work, though experts caution commercial viability and cost trajectories remain uncertain. (thecooldown.com) (nuclear-news.net) (mining.com.au) (eenewseurope.com) (runcornandwidnesworld.co.uk) (nature.com)
STEP Fusion’s magnets team has built remountable joints (RMJs) that use a bladder‑based clamp — a sealed bladder that expands during cool‑down to apply even contact pressure at cryogenic temperatures — and the design is being prepared for patenting after bench tests. (stepfusion.com) STEP said the RMJ programme moved “from a concept sketch to delivering and shipping a product” within a single financial year as part of a multi‑million‑pound engineering effort involving UKAEA and UK Industrial Fusion Solutions. (stepfusion.com) Oxford Sigma reported a successful demonstration of a new quench‑protection concept for superconducting fusion magnets on 2 February 2026, delivered in collaboration with STEP Fusion, Rockwood Cryogenics and Atled Engineering. (oxfordsigma.com) The UK’s “Quantum leap” package was announced by DSIT and HM Treasury on 17 March 2026 and commits the government to an advanced procurement programme (ProQure) to develop and deploy large‑scale quantum computers in Britain by the early 2030s. (gov.uk) Industry summaries of the package list allocations including more than £500 million for quantum computing, roughly £400 million for sensing and navigation, £125 million for quantum networking, £90 million for infrastructure scaling, and an extra £13.8 million into the five National Quantum Hubs. (techuk.org) Nature reported that the UK’s wider science announcements in mid‑March include about £2.5 billion targeted at fusion programmes, including funding for the STEP prototype sited at the former coal‑fired West Burton power station. (nature.com) The European Commission’s adopted Euratom Work Programme for 2026–2027, published 19 March 2026, earmarks €222 million to accelerate fusion from laboratory research toward grid connection and €108 million for nuclear innovation, safety and skills, and it pledges to set up a new public–private partnership and boost start‑up support. (eunews.it) UK Research and Innovation says the new National Cryogenic Facility at Daresbury will enable testing from 2 K to 20 K, deliver an approximately six‑fold increase in UK cryogenic capacity for scale‑up (notably for quantum and superconducting magnet testing), and act as a skills hub for cryogenic engineering. (ukri.org)
