A raft of Tier One contractors are in the running to design and build a prototype fusion energy plant in Nottinghamshire, valued at £20 billion.
UK Industrial Fusion Solutions (UKIFS) has published the shortlisted companies competing to become its engineering and construction partners for the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) project, at the West Burton power station site.
STEP will be delivered by a long-term, public-private sector partnership between UKIFS, parent company UKAEA Group as fusion partner, and the contractors.
It is hoped successful proofs of the prototype will pave the way for the commercialisation of fusion as a “safe, low-carbon and near-limitless energy source”.
“The contracts for STEP’s Engineering and Construction Partners will be worth an initial combined value of hundreds of millions of pounds during the first contract period until 2029,” said UKIFS.
Adding: “Further phases will continue the long-term collaboration that builds progressively with the programme.”
Shortlisted construction partners:
- Inovus Infrastructure: Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering as lead, with Vinci Construction, AtkinsRealis, Mott Macdonald and WSP
- ILIOS: Kier Infrastructure and Overseas as lead, with BAM Nuttal, Nuvia, AECOM, Turner & Townsend Infrastructure and Amanda Levete Architects
- Ferrovial Mace JV: Ferrovial Construction UK as lead, with Mace Consult
Shortlisted engineering partners:
- Celestial JV: Eni UK as lead, with AtkinsRealis, Jacobs Clean Energy (now Amentum), Westinghouse and Tokamak Energy
- Phoenix (UK) Fusion Limited: Cavendish Nuclear as lead, with KBR and Assystem Energy and Infrastructure
Contractors will now enter competitive dialogue with UKIFS until the final partner selection in late 2025/early 2026.
Other opportunities for the broader supply chain will follow the appointment, with thousands of jobs created during construction and operations, said UKIFS.
“The announcement of shortlisted organisations for STEP’s Whole Plant Partners is a critical milestone for our mission to demonstrate fusion energy and development of a world-leading fusion supply chain that unlocks significant industrial and economic opportunities,” said Paul Methven, CEO of UKIFS and senior responsible owner for STEP.
“Together, we aim to lead the development of a fusion energy sector that will help meet rising global energy demand as well as deliver near-term benefits for industry and for the communities that will help build STEP.”
Fusion is based on the same processes powering the Sun and stars: when a mix of two types of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) are heated to form a plasma 10 times hotter than the core of the Sun, they fuse together to create helium and release huge amounts of energy.
The West Burton power station site was announced as STEP’s base in October 2022.
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