The UK and US will sign two new fusion agreements in London today as Britain pushes to turn decades of research into a commercial clean energy industry.
The deals, announced at the Global Fusion Summit, include a new supercomputing partnership between the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, bringing together AI, advanced computing and fusion expertise.
The two countries will also sign a Joint Statement on closer cooperation over fusion regulation, aimed at giving developers and investors greater certainty as the sector moves towards commercial deployment.
Fusion reproduces the process that powers the sun by combining hydrogen atoms to release energy. It has long been seen as a potential source of low-carbon power but the challenge is moving from experimental science to reliable, economically viable generation.
Minister for Energy Michael Shanks said: “Fusion has the potential to provide virtually limitless clean energy while supporting more than 10,000 jobs across the UK by 2030, attracting investment and creating major opportunities for British businesses.
“By strengthening our partnership with the US we’re accelerating the race to commercial fusion, turning cutting-edge research into economic growth and cementing Britain’s position as a world leader in fusion energy.”
The Government says the sector could support more than 10,000 UK jobs by 2030.
Britain has committed more than £2.5 billion to fusion over five years and is backing the STEP programme, which aims to build a prototype fusion power plant at West Burton in Nottinghamshire by 2040.
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Further investment announced alongside the summit includes a £2.63 million fusion materials collaboration involving the University of Birmingham, Electric Power Research Institute and industry partners.
Japanese fusion company Kyoto Fusioneering will also invest up to £3 million in the UK through Project ALBION, supporting the development and testing of materials for STEP.
The Government has also published a UK Fusion Investment Prospectus aimed at attracting companies and capital into the sector.
It estimates the future global fusion market could ultimately be worth between £3 trillion and £12 trillion.
Britain is also investing £180 million in the Lithium Breeding Tritium Innovation programme and £125 million in the AI Growth Zone at Culham, including £45 million for the SUNRISE supercomputer.
The UK was the first country to establish a dedicated regulatory framework for fusion and has since committed to developing a specific market framework for the technology.
The latest agreements signal a shift from pure research towards regulation, investment and industrial scale-up, with Britain positioning itself to capture part of a potentially enormous future global market.
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