UK and US strike nuclear fusion pact in bid to unlock 10,000 British jobs and near-limitless clean power

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Japan's largest fusion company, Kyoto Fusioneering, has announced an investment of up to £3million in the UK

Britain and America are joining forces in the quest to harness nuclear fusion – an elusive energy goal that promises near-limitless clean power.

The countries will sign two new agreements at London’s Global Fusion Summit today in a move that could help deliver more than 10,000 UK jobs by 2030.

Fusion is the process that powers the Sun, which creates energy by merging hydrogen atoms together to create helium.

Scientists have long sought to recreate and sustain the reaction in the lab - but this means containing unstable plasma fields at temperatures above 100 million Celsius.

While fusion has been achieved on a limited scale, transferring this to a continuous power plant remains a huge engineering hurdle.

Solving the riddle could deliver clean power “for generations to come” and a future fusion market is estimated to be worth up to £12trillion.

The first of the new agreements will create a new supercomputing partnership between the UK Atomic Energy Authority and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

This will combine “world-leading expertise in AI, computing and fusion to accelerate the development of commercial fusion”.

The US and UK will also sign a joint statement committing to closer cooperation on regulating fusion energy.

This is aimed at attracting investment and supporting the growth of the sector.

Labour says that fusion “has the potential to provide a secure source of clean energy for generations to come, without producing carbon emissions during operation”.

Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: "Fusion has the potential to provide virtually limitless clean energy while supporting more than 10,000 jobs across the UK by 2030, attracting investment and creating major opportunities for British businesses.

"By strengthening our partnership with the US we’re accelerating the race to commercial fusion, turning cutting-edge research into economic growth and cementing Britain's position as a world leader in fusion energy."

Chris Elmore, Minister for the Americas, added: “The UK's relationship with the United States supports growth and thousands of jobs at home.

“By bringing together world-leading expertise in fusion, artificial intelligence and advanced computing, we're helping British businesses and researchers access the investment, knowledge and international partnerships needed to succeed in the industries of the future.”

The news comes as the University of Birmingham and the US-based Electric Power Research Institute secured a £2.63million collaboration on fusion materials.

Japan's largest fusion company, Kyoto Fusioneering, has announced an investment of up to £3million in the UK.

This will support the development and testing of materials for the UK Government-backed STEP programme, which is designing a prototype fusion power plant.

Britain is also publishing its UK Fusion Investment Prospectus for companies and investors, aimed at helping “turn Britain’s world-leading fusion research into a new clean energy industry”.