New nuclear power plant to be built in UK

Tokamak Energy, based at Milton Park, has partnered with US firms Type One Energy and AECOM to help develop the UK’s first private-sector-led fusion power plant.

A fusion power plant is a nuclear power plant because it generates energy by changing the nucleus of atoms.

Fusion power is a method of electric power generation from heat released by nuclear fusion reactions.

No location has been publicly announced for this new plant.

Tokamak Energy employs more than 300 people in Oxfordshire and is helping anchor high-skilled clean energy jobs in the county, supported by wider Government investment in UK fusion research and development.

Ed Miliband

The Government has committed more than £2.5 billion to fusion research and development across the country, supporting the infrastructure, skills and partnerships needed to help British fusion companies grow.

This includes Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production, the Government-backed programme to build a prototype fusion power plant in the UK, where Tokamak Energy has been involved as part of the wider UK fusion supply chain, as well as UK-US research collaboration involving companies such as Tokamak Energy.

That backing is helping create the conditions for Tokamak Energy to work with American partners, attract investment, and develop the technologies needed to bring fusion power closer to reality.

The Government’s Fusion Strategy sets out a long-term path to commercial fusion energy and supports the UK’s ambition to become a world leader in the technology.

The strategy is expected to support up to 10,000 jobs by 2030 while driving investment into communities across the UK.

Foreign secretary Ed Miliband said: “Fusion has the potential to strengthen our energy security, create skilled jobs and drive growth here in the UK.

“Having led the Government’s work on clean energy, I know how important it is to back British companies developing the technologies of the future.

“Through partnerships with countries like the United States, we are helping firms such as Tokamak Energy attract investment, scale up and keep the UK at the forefront of next-generation clean energy.”

Ross Morgan, Tokamak Energy’s Fusion managing director, said: “Fusion will transform global energy markets as a clean, limitless, on-demand power source of the future. But we cannot do it on our own.

“Strong partnerships with the UK and US Governments are invaluable to Tokamak Energy as we scale up and work together to unlock the power of the sun here on Earth.”

Tokamak Energy is also working with the US Department of Energy and the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to advance the science and technology needed for future fusion power plants, using the company’s record-breaking fusion machine at Milton Park.

Minister for energy Michael Shanks said: “Fusion is one of the most exciting technologies being developed in the UK today, with the potential to create skilled jobs, attract investment and generate virtually limitless energy.

“Close collaboration with the US is helping British companies such as Tokamak Energy grow, innovate and bring fusion power closer to reality.”

UK-US collaboration on fusion has grown in recent years. A formal fusion energy partnership signed in 2023 boosted joint work between the two countries, while a first-of-its-kind project with Tokamak Energy in 2024 is helping advance lithium research, an important part of developing future fusion power plants.

In 2025, the UK and US also agreed a landmark nuclear partnership, deepening cooperation on advanced nuclear technologies and clean energy.

In September, the UK and US will co-host the Global Fusion Policy Summit in London, bringing together countries, and fusion industry leaders and experts, to help accelerate fusion development and commercialisation.

Fusion is expected to become a multi‑trillion‑pound global market in the second half of the century, presenting a major long‑term growth opportunity for the UK.

STEP is the Government-backed programme to develop a prototype fusion power plant in the UK and show how fusion could one day provide low-carbon power.

Tokamak Energy has contributed expertise to the wider STEP supply chain, reflecting Oxfordshire’s role at the heart of the UK’s fusion sector.

Oxfordshire sits at the heart of this ambition, with around 500 companies linked to fusion activity across the Oxford‑Cambridge Growth Corridor.

The region is also home to the UK Atomic Energy Authority at Culham, which employs around 2,000 people, with a further 6,000 jobs supported across its supply chain.