Trans-Atlantic cooperation on fusion energy has been strengthened by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the US Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).
The agreement builds on the Address of His Majesty The King to the Joint Meeting of Congress in Washington D.C., which highlighted new partnerships between the UK and the United States on fusion energy, ensuring that “British and American ingenuity continues to lead the world”.
Framed within a broader US-UK partnership in trade and science and following The King’s Address, the MoU sets out a programme of collaboration spanning a wide range of fusion disciplines to support both nations’ ambitions to deliver sustainable and commercial fusion energy.
Under the agreement, PPPL and UKAEA will work together to expand scientific, academic, and educational cooperation across fusion science and technology. This includes reciprocal staff exchanges, access to major research facilities, joint projects, exchange of academic information, collaboration on ITER diagnostics, advanced computing programs and wider information sharing over the coming years.
Fulvio Militello, Executive Director of Plasma Science and Fusion Operations at UKAEA, said
UKAEA has decades of expertise operating world-leading fusion facilities and solving complex fusion challenges. Our mission is to leverage this expertise through international partnerships to deliver sustainable fusion energy.
This agreement with PPPL confirms the positive working relationship between the US and UK fusion communities. We look forward to combining our expertise to help solve some of fusion’s toughest challenges.
Laura Berzak Hopkins, Associate Laboratory Director for Strategy and Partnerships, Deputy Chief Research Officer at PPPL, said
PPPL and UKAEA have each led groundbreaking, flagship fusion experiments. This strategic partnership allows us to unite our capabilities and deliver on our shared mission of bringing fusion from the lab to the grid. It is through global partnerships like this that PPPL amplifies its impact and pushes the boundaries of fusion science.
The agreement will focus on advancing the physics and technology basis for future fusion power plants.
Jack Berkery, PPPL, and Andrew Thornton, UKAEA, viewing gyrotrons for MAST Upgrade’s new heating system at UKAEA – Image credit United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority