Canadian energy company General Fusion, backed by Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, is planning to build a nuclear fusion facility in the UK.

The Canadian company is set to build the site in partnership with the UK Atomic Energy Authority, on its pre-existing site in the village of Culham, Oxfordshire.

In the nuclear fusion process, two atomic nuclei are combined to form a heavier nucleus, which releases large amounts of energy.

This process is how the sun produces energy, and if replicated on earth would provide a sustainable form of energy production.

Construction is set to begin in 2022, with operations beginning approximately three years later.
The overall cost of the project was not disclosed.

The site won't generate power itself but will be 70 per cent of the size of a commercial reactor.

The facility will aim to demonstrate General Fusion’s proprietary magnetized target fusion (MTF) technology, which the company said will pave the way for its subsequent commercial pilot plant.

General Fusion were founded in 2002 in Burnaby, British Columbia and they currently employ 140 people.

Nuclear fusion companies are continuing to attract investment worldwide; California-based TAE Technologies, the world’s biggest fusion energy company, raised $280 million in funding from Google in April.

“This new plant by General Fusion is a huge boost for our plans to develop a fusion industry in the UK, and I’m thrilled that Culham will be home to such a cutting-edge and potentially transformative project,” said Amanda Solloway MP, science minister for the UK Government. “Fusion energy has great potential as a source of limitless, low-carbon energy, and today’s announcement is a clear vote of confidence in the region and the UK’s status as a global science superpower.”

“Coming to Culham gives us the opportunity to benefit from UKAEA’s expertise,” said Christofer Mowry, chief executive at General Fusion. “By locating at this campus, General Fusion expands our market presence beyond North America into Europe, broadening our global network of government, institutional, and industrial partners. This is incredibly exciting news for not only General Fusion, but also the global effort to develop practical fusion energy.”

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