Assystem announced that it has secured a place on three new United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) frameworks that will facilitate the development of the UK's Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP).
STEP is a government-backed programme to build a prototype fusion energy plant in the UK. UKAEA is aiming to produce a concept design by 2024 and targeting first operations in the early 2040s. A site for the project is due to be selected this year.
Assystem said it is supporting the UKAEA with "a broad range of engineering services via multiple contracts won on the £4 million Engineering Embedded Resource Framework".
The framework covers a variety of UKAEA projects such as STEP, the Joint European Torus (JET), and research at the UKAEA’s new Fusion Technology Facility in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The Fusion Technology Facility will be home to CHIMERA (Combined Heating and Magnetic Research Apparatus), the only machine in the world that is able to test components under the unique combination of conditions encountered in large fusion devices, such as ITER.
Assystem will also be supporting the concept design of STEP via the STEP Fuel Cycle – Tritium Engineering Framework, established to allow the UKAEA to access the UK industry’s knowledge of tritium and tritium engineering.
In a third win Assystem has secured a place on the STEP Manufacture Support Services Framework, which will enable the UKAEA to access a range of design for manufacturing and advanced engineering skills.
“Assystem is a well-established fusion engineering company, and we are invested in the UK’s ambition to drive the technology forward, an example of which is our 2021 report: Fusion Energy: A global effort, a UK opportunity that highlights the pathway to the commercialisation of fusion energy technology, focusing on the potential benefits for the UK in driving its development," said Gary Reed, Assystem’s UK Fusion Energy Business Manager.
“We are delighted to join these frameworks as it will enable us to channel the knowledge and expertise of our teams into this new technology and allow Assystem to create interesting careers in science and engineering for graduates today.”
How STEP might look (Photo credit: UKAEA)
