nuclear-news

Fusion – the endless dream

UK Minister for Energy Michael Shanks reportedly said that ‘Fusion has
the potential to provide virtually limitless clean energy’. That’s a dream
that some now see as getting a bit more real. The UK has form in this area.
It was a pioneer in nuclear fusion, with the ZETA device built at Harwell
in the late 1950s getting, briefly, a very good press: there was front-page
newspaper coverage saying it was a breakthrough towards unlimited energy.
Sadly, and embarrassingly, it turned out not to be the case. However, the
UK persevered with fusion over the years, for example playing host to JET,
the Joint European Torus test unit at UKAEA Culham. And now the UK
government has committed more than £2.5 billion over five years to new
nuclear fusion, including £1.3 billion for UK Fusion Energy to deliver the
STEP programme (a spin-off from Culham) in partnership with industry. A
further £740 million is earmarked for research and development
infrastructure and facilities. Unless of course there is a big
breakthrough. Can we afford to wait for that? By contrast, renewables are
ready here and now. Arguably they are a much better bet….using the fusion
reactor we already have- the sun.

Renew Extra 10th Oct 2026,
https://renewextraweekly.blogspot.com/2026/10/fusion-endless-dream.html

October 15, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | technology