UK Atomic Energy Authority

28/08/2026

In July of this year the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and global energy tech company, Eni, announced they have formed a joint venture to offer capabilities to the fusion energy sector...

Named RH3OVA [pronounced: Reeova] and incorporated in the UK, the joint venture combines the technical and industrial expertise of both partners to deliver specialist consultancy and operational services to the growing global fusion industry.

To read more about the announcement, visit https://www.ukaea.org/news/ukaea-and-eni-launch-rh3ova-to-advance-fusion-industry/

27/08/2026

Stay up-to-date with UK Atomic Energy Authority news, training, and events by reading the UKAEA Monthly Newsletter.

Our priorities are:
🔵 Solving the challenges of sustainable fusion energy - from design through to decommissioning - with world-leading science and engineering.

🔵 Enabling partners to design, deliver, and operate commercial fusion power plants.

🔵 Driving UK economic growth and a thriving industry that exports fusion technology around the world.

🔵 Creating clusters of organisations that accelerate innovation in fusion and related technologies.

🔵 Developing the talented, diverse people needed to deliver fusion energy.

We're at the forefront of fusion energy and its related technologies. We're on a mission to deliver safe, sustainable, low-carbon energy from fusion, achieving maximum scientific and economic benefit along the way.

Edition 28 Newsletter Find out what has been happening at UKAEA in our monthly newsletter. Read about our recent activities and upcoming events.  Edition 28 Newsletter Find out what has been happening at UKAEA in our monthly newsletter. Read about our recent activities and upcoming events.

26/08/2026

Over the next few months, JET Decommissioning and Repurposing (JDR) will be trialling asset-based decommissioning in the next phase of its work programme in three areas of the JET estate. All three areas were part of the extensive infrastructure which channelled electrical power to JET during its plasma operations.

The work supports the wider development of Culham Campus. It will enable the Strategic Investment and Development for Energy & AI (STRIDE) programme to progress land remediation in preparation for a fourth super grid transformer to be installed.

JDR has contracted industry specialist, Ramco (UK), to undertake the work. Ramco’s client base includes the Ministry of Defence, Government Departments, Uniper, National Highways, and Nuclear Restoration Services.

Steve Gilligan, Engineering Integration Manager, JDR, said: “Through delivering prior building decommissioning projects, we recognised that there was a need to explore a different model.

The value of asset-based decommissioning is that it offsets the investment needed to establish a team, do engineering preparation, and then maximises the value of the material.

The JET expertise is around the knowledge of the site, and how we can make it safe. We need to generate the information to allow industry to follow their practices and do the work as quickly and efficiently as they can.

We’ve had a number of site visits, and each one of them has highlighted the level of engagement required to deliver the project.”

Teddy Townsend, Business Development Manager, Ramco (UK), said: “This is really exciting because it allows us to do what we do best. We can look at assets that have value, which can be taken to auction, we can do the scrap, and we can do the demolishing.”
Ramco’s work has started immediately, with the trial contract being completed in March 2027.

Learn more about the JDR Programme, here https://www.ukaea.org/work/jet-decommissioning-and-repurposing/

25/08/2026

The recent IAEA webinar on UKAEA's Global Fusion Guide for SMEs, released earlier this year, has sparked further interest in how SMEs can tap into this increasingly exciting and dynamic sector.

You can view the webinar here: https://nucleus.iaea.org/sites/fusion-portal/Shared%20Documents/Webinars/IAEA%20Fusion%20Energy%20Webinar%20Entering%20the%20Global%20Fusion%20Supply%20Chain%20A%20Practical%20Guide%20for%20SMEs-20260818%201302-1.MP4

For the guide, visit https://www.ukaea.org/about-ukaea/publications/global-fusion-guide-for-smes/

Access the fast-growing global fusion energy sector that is building its supply chain now.

24/08/2026

UKAEA's Fusion Opportunities in Skills, Training, Education & Research (FOSTER) programme has supported 39 undergraduate internships this summer at universities and companies across the country. Interns have been working on a range of projects as diverse as the use of high-powered lasers, processing and characterising materials being developed in research, and computational modelling of electron emission to be integrated into plasma simulation tools. Interns will present posters at a special event at Culham Campus in September.

For more information about how FOSTER is positively impacting training and education to bring fusion energy to the grid, visit www.ukaea.org/work/foster

23/08/2026

Whether you're just starting out or considering a career change, apprenticeships at UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) are open to everyone. In this short film, two apprentices from the Tritium Fuel Cycle (TFC) team share their honest experiences of starting an earn-while-you-learn career at the cutting edge of fusion energy research.

From day-to-day life in a world-class scientific and engineering environment to the real benefits of a science apprenticeship, they talk openly about what it's like to join TFC as an apprentice - and why it could be the right career path for you, whatever stage of life you're at.

Whether you're exploring your options for the first time, thinking about a new direction, or a parent or carer researching apprenticeship programmes in the UK, this film gives you a genuine insight into one of the most exciting STEM workplaces in the country.

🔬 Work on technology that could help power the world's future through clean fusion energy
💼 Launch or relaunch a rewarding career in nuclear and energy research with a recognised qualification
🎓 Earn a wage and gain real skills from day one with a UKAEA apprenticeship

Find out more about early careers and apprenticeships at https://careers.ukaea.uk/early-careers/apprenticeships/

19/08/2026

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) recently completed its most ambitious series of experiments to date on its flagship fusion machine. The highest plasma pressure attained by the machine was achieved while overcoming control problems that are considered essential prerequisites for commercial fusion power.

The fifth series of experiments conducted on the MAST Upgrade machine, at UKAEA's Culham Campus, ran through 2025 and 2026 and produced more than 1,100 fusion plasmas.

The scientific results were one of the flagship deliveries of UKAEA's recently published 2026-2030 Strategy: building the scientific foundations needed to make fusion a deployable, low-carbon energy source.

The experiments conducted by the team demonstrated the highest pressure ever achieved in the MAST Upgrade machine without the plasma destabilising.

The central challenge of MAST Upgrade's experiments was to suppress instabilities known as “Edge Localised Modes” or “ELMs”. These are sudden bursts at the plasma's outer edge that can cause a loss of plasma pressure and eject up to a tenth of its stored energy in a single event and, over time, damage a machine's inner wall and exhaust components.

Building on ELM-suppression results from previous plasma experiments, the MAST Upgrade team adopted the Quasi-Continuous Exhaust mode (QCE-mode) and Resonant Magnetic Perturbations (RMP) ELM suppression modes using coils that apply 3D magnetic fields to reduce the plasma pressure at the edge to keep it stable.

The MAST Upgrade team also developed a world-first technique for controlling the plasma's position. By measuring visible light created by deuterium emitted from the machine's upper and lower outer divertors, minute positional imbalances can be detected in real-time.

These breakthroughs were achieved by exploring advanced techniques to suppress ELMs with innovative plasma control and heat-exhaust methods, such as MAST Upgrade's Super-X divertor, which manages and spreads intense heat and particle exhaust loads more effectively.

The results of the experiments featured at the European Physical Society's Plasma Physics Conference 2026, hosted by UKAEA in Edinburgh. They are now being shared with the international fusion community to inform the design and operation of STEP Fusion and ITER Organization.

MAST Upgrade will undergo further enhancements this year, including the addition of two new neutral beam injectors, doubling the machine's neutral beam heating capacity, and the installation of an Electron Bernstein Wave (EBW) system that will provide an additional 1.6 MW of heating power.
EBW technology is planned for use in STEP, the UK's prototype fusion power plant to be based in West Burton in Nottinghamshire.

For the full story on this exciting development, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/news/under-pressure-record-plasma-for-uk-flagship-machine

IMAGE 1: a negative triangularity plasma in MAST Upgrade Fifth Campaign
IMAGE 2: MAST Upgrade plasma with nitrogen added to spread exhaust heat

19/08/2026

We’re exhibiting at New Scientist Live! Join UK Atomic Energy Authority, and a whole host of other exhibitors at ExCeL London between the 10th - 12th October.

Packed with some of the biggest names in science, this year’s show is a journey into the big ideas shaping our world and our future.

We'll be on hand to talk about fusion energy, robotics, and materials research. For further information, and to book tickets, go to https://live.newscientist.com/

17/08/2026

Singular Machines, a UK engineering automation company, has completed a strategic investment round led by the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (managed by Future Planet Capital), Oxford Science Enterprises, and joined by global engineering firm Arup and Japan’s Miraisozo Investments - alongside a fresh contract with Arup to use its coEngen platform.

Fusion energy requires the efficient ex*****on of complex, high-assurance engineering. Singular Machines applies that discipline beyond fusion, to engineering automation across wider industry.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) spinout aligns with UKAEA’s 2026-2030 strategy to translate fusion research into commercial opportunities, driving long-term UK economic and industrial gain from national R&D investments.

UKAEA spinouts create opportunities for the development of skills, IP and innovative technologies to generate value across multiple sectors, and play a key role in powering UK prosperity. Such companies can attract investment, create high-skilled jobs and help build the industries of the future.

Arup's contract with and investment in Singular Machines, which spun out in 2026, illustrates the strength of the UK deep-tech pipeline, supporting its journey from public research institution to venture-backed company, to industry partnership.

Singular Machines is developing coEngen, an agentic AI platform designed to maintain the traceability, assurance and professional judgement that engineering practice depends on, thus helping engineers work more efficiently while keeping engineering expertise at the centre of decision-making.

Alongside strategic investment from the four organisations, Arup will also provide technical, commercial and strategic support, and will help shape and test the Singular Machines platform using real-world engineering workflows.

Adrian van Arkel, Founder and CEO, Singular Machines, said: “The support from UKAEA’s innovation team helped us get Singular Machines off the ground. Fusion is where we started, but the problem coEngen solves runs right across engineering: projects have become so complex that they are reaching the limits of what human coordination alone can handle. We are building coEngen so these projects can flourish.”

Heather Lewtas, Interim Chief Development Officer, UKAEA, said: “UKAEA’s world-leading science and innovation is accelerating the creation of commercial opportunities in the UK, and we are very pleased to support Singular Machines in spinning out and developing its industrial partnerships.”

For further information on our strategy, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukaea-unveils-2026-2030-fusion-roadmap

14/08/2026

Join UKAEA for our free 'Virtual Open Evening'. Register via the link, below.

📅 19 August
⏰ 6pm - 7.20pm
➡️ https://www.ukaea.org/event/ukaea-virtual-open-evening-august-2026/

This is a unique opportunity to see some of our amazing work on developing sustainable fusion energy from the comfort of your own home.

A unique opportunity to see some of the amazing work we are doing to develop sustainable fusion energy from the comfort of your own home. 19 August