The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has awarded sixteen contracts to develop highly specialised sensors for extreme conditions of fusion energy environments, totalling £3.5 million in total.

The 16 contracts, feasibility studies from £100,000 up to £250,000, have been awarded by the UKAEA’s Fusion Industry Programme, which was launched in 2021 to develop the necessary technology and skills for the future global fusion power plant market,

The organisations, ten private companies and three academic institutions, will work on developing sensing and diagnostic technologies, which are essential for the future of fusion power plants.

Fusion power plants operate under complex conditions, such as extreme temperatures, high neutron loads and high magnetic fields, so having specialised sensors that can operate under these conditions is vital to making fusion energy a commercially viable part of the world’s energy mix.

These 13 organisations will undertake technical feasibility studies, which will take their sensing and diagnostics technologies to ‘proof of concept’ stages with support from the Fusion Industry Programme.

Some of the awarded contracts include: 3 — Sci Ltd’s high field, high temperature, radiation-tolerant distributed magnetic ensign feasibility, Amentum Clean Energy Ltd’s determination of hydrogen isotopologues in liquid lithium, and MuWave Ltd’s feasibility study for high frequency collective Thompson scattering system.

Tim Bestwick chief technology officer and deputy CEO at UKAEA, said: “Fusion promises to be a safe, sustainable source of energy for future generations. However, delivering fusion means overcoming complex scientific and engineering challenges, such as developing tough sensors to withstand fusion’s harsh environments.

“The Fusion Industry Programme is engaging private companies and academia to help solve these challenges, while stimulating innovation that can boost adjacent sectors.”