Archive - Tuesday, 17 February 2004


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Research council awards £48m grant for research

A SCIENTIFIC funding body based at North Star in Swindon has awarded its biggest ever grant.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has allocated £48m to be pumped over four years into fusion research.

Fusion, the process by which the sun produces heat and light, has the potential to provide an almost limitless clean, safe, renewable energy source for future generations.

But before that can be achieved, engineering and scientific challenges need to be addressed.

The EPSRC grant has been awarded to the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) at its Culham site in Oxfordshire. The grant will underpin the UK involvement in the European EURATOM research project, also based at Culham, along with the development of the UK's own fusion device, MAST (Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak) and research on the materials needed for a fusion power station.

Professor Sir David King, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government and Head of the Office of Science and Technology, said, "This grant will enable Culham to continue its excellent work in the development of fusion science, leading to fusion power, and in doing so maintain the UK's position as one of the world leaders in fusion."