From pioneering nuclear research to the quest for abundant clean energy, Birmingham is helping solve fusion's toughest engineering challenges.
Fusion power replicates the process that powers the Sun, using temperatures of up to 150-200 million°C to generate energy on Earth.
The University of Birmingham has a strong historical pedigree in nuclear research, dating back to the Second World War. German-Jewish physicists Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls first demonstrated the technical feasibility of an atomic weapon in work carried out at the University in March 1940. Mark Oliphant, a professor of physics at the University and a key figure in the development of fusion research, played a major role in disseminating this work in the United States, where it was developed into the Manhattan Project.
“In many ways, we at Birmingham are standing on the shoulders of giants, building on work that began nearly 90 years ago,” says Professor Arunodaya Bhattacharya. Professor Bhattacharya is Chair in Fusion Energy at the University of Birmingham; he runs the Fission and Fusion Energy Sciences Group and is co-director of the Fusion Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training, a £9.5 million programme funded by the UK Government that aims to train around 150 fusion engineers by 2032. The University of Birmingham is combining its fission and fusion capabilities with its historical strength in advanced materials and manufacturing to improve the safety and durability of nuclear infrastructure.
We cover the entire life cycle of fusion, from designing, building, operating, and maintaining, all the way through to decommissioning. We are thinking 100 years ahead. When fusion facilities eventually need to be decommissioned, what do we need to do now to prepare?
Fission and fusion are different methods of generating energy at the atomic level. Fission produces energy by splitting atoms, whereas fusion does so by combining them. Of the two, fission is currently more accessible and is widely used in nuclear power plants, where the energy released is carefully controlled within reactors. Fusion, by contrast, is far more complex and challenging to achieve. It is the same process that powers the sun, but replicating it on Earth requires temperatures of 150 to 200 million degrees Celsius. Hydrogen bombs demonstrate the immense power of uncontrolled nuclear fusion.
Fusion typically involves two isotopes of hydrogen: deuterium and tritium. Deuterium is abundant and can be extracted from seawater, while tritium is rare, radioactive, and primarily produced in fission reactors. Only a limited number of institutions, including the University of Birmingham, have the capability to safely handle significant quantities of tritium. “Our expertise comes from experience with isotopes, including isotope production, which allows us to handle tritium safely and effectively,” says Professor Bhattacharya.
Both fission and fusion reactors demand materials capable of withstanding extreme conditions. The additional challenge of fusion is the production of highly energetic neutrons, as well as plasma particles, which are themselves extremely hot. While plasma can exist in relatively benign forms, such as in neon signs, fusion plasma reaches temperatures of up to 150 million degrees Celsius. As a result, reactor materials must endure not only extreme thermal stress but also sustained neutron bombardment and direct interaction with high-energy plasma.
The challenge for Birmingham’s researchers is to develop materials and manufacturing strategies that can simultaneously withstand all these stresses. “We cover the entire life cycle of fusion, from designing, building, operating, and maintaining, all the way through to decommissioning,” says Professor Bhattacharya. “We are thinking 100 years ahead. When fusion facilities eventually need to be decommissioned, what do we need to do now to prepare?”
Each component within a fusion reactor presents its own unique engineering difficulties. The divertor, for example, must endure heat fluxes comparable to those found on the surface of the Sun over prolonged periods. At the same time, reactor components must also withstand sudden, intense bursts of energy similar to lightning strikes. Designing materials, particularly metals and their joints, that can survive such conditions without failing, melting, or degrading is essential for the viability and safety of fusion-based energy systems.
The High Flux Accelerator-Driven Neutron Facility at Birmingham supports the study of neutron interactions in materials for the nuclear sector, ranging from fission to fusion.
In a field as sensitive as nuclear energy, there is little margin for error, yet opportunities for direct experimentation are limited. “There’s no power-generating fusion reactor in operation yet, so we can’t test materials under full fusion conditions,” says Professor Bhattacharya. “Instead, we combine experiments from fission reactors, particle accelerators, and high-flux testing to predict what will happen, and we use that knowledge to pre-emptively design better materials and manufacturing strategies.”
To support this work, researchers rely on specialised testing environments within Birmingham’s facilities. Plasma is generated in magnetically confined devices, which are highly complex systems designed to contain extremely hot, dense plasma that produces intense heat and neutron radiation. One example is the tokamak, a doughnut-shaped device that uses powerful magnetic fields to replicate the fusion processes occurring in the core of a star. These devices simulate the most extreme reactor conditions. Tungsten, for instance, is a key heat-resistant material, particularly for joining critical reactor components; students in Birmingham’s programme are able to test tungsten components within real tokamak systems.
Birmingham’s advanced manufacturing and materials research capabilities are crucial to this testing process. The High Flux Accelerator-Driven Neutron Facility provides intense neutron sources that simulate the damage caused by extreme fusion conditions. This is complemented by a broader materials research ecosystem, including the Materials for Extreme Environments Group and the High Temperature Research Centre, both of which focus on testing materials under the demanding conditions required for next-generation technologies. In addition, Birmingham hosts one of Europe’s largest hydrogen laboratories, an essential asset for supporting the fusion fuel cycle.
The University of Birmingham has joined a landmark UK-US university partnership to advance fusion energy, strengthening research collaboration and helping develop the skilled workforce needed for future clean energy technologies.
The ultimate goal is fusion. Once fusion is commercial, it provides essentially limitless energy.
The group maintains strong links with partners across industry, government, and academia. One of their most significant partnerships is a major Prosperity Partnership with Tokamak Energy, a UK-based private fusion company, focused on designing advanced shielding systems to protect reactor magnets. Collaborative efforts with Hyperion Materials & Technologies and the Electric Power Research Institute in the United States are also underway.
Professor Bhattacharya emphasises the importance of engaging with the government’s plans for fusion and nuclear energy more broadly. He serves on the board of directors for the Fusion Industry Taskforce, which represents industry stakeholders to the UK Government, as well as Midlands Nuclear, an organisation shaping the region’s long-term nuclear strategy.
Key to the evolving fusion landscape in the Midlands is the Trent Valley Super Cluster, an ambitious initiative that aims to transform former coal-fired power stations into next-generation energy hubs. Decommissioned coal power sites at Cottam and West Burton are central to this project. At West Burton, the UK Government has committed £2.5 billion to the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) programme to build a fusion power plant. Nearby, the Cottam site is set to host four small modular reactors (SMRs), while a planned green hydrogen production facility at H2M lies just a few miles away. Together, these developments seek to establish a highly integrated, low-carbon energy network for the Midlands, with Birmingham supporting the development of the cluster through a fusion-focused workshop held earlier this year. “As the only nuclear-heavy university in the Midlands, we’re hoping to stimulate local industry and show local companies in the UK’s manufacturing heartland the opportunities for them to pivot toward nuclear,” says Professor Bhattacharya.
A new £2.63 million partnership between the University of Birmingham and EPRI will advance fusion energy research, developing materials for future power plants and helping turn scientific breakthroughs into commercial clean energy solutions.
Energy security encompasses both clean energy sources and stable energy supply. Nuclear power delivers both, generating large amounts of reliable, high-density electricity from a relatively small footprint. As energy demand continues to grow, particularly with the rapid expansion of AI, few other technologies can provide the scale and consistency required. “AI needs 24/7, clean, uninterrupted, high-inertia baseload power, which only nuclear power provides,” says Professor Bhattacharya.
The strategy in the Midlands reflects this. The STEP reactor, alongside the next generation of SMRs, is expected to play a key role in powering energy-intensive infrastructure such as data centres. Governments are pursuing a balanced approach that includes large-scale nuclear plants, SMRs, and a path towards fusion. Each has a distinct role: large reactors provide continuous baseload power, while SMRs offer flexibility for regions where traditional plants are not viable. “The ultimate goal is fusion,” says Professor Bhattacharya. “Once fusion is commercial, it provides essentially limitless energy.” The STEP programme aims to demonstrate a viable commercial pathway to fusion power by 2040.
At its core, this long-term vision is closely interwoven with advances in materials science and manufacturing. Progress in fusion is a question of engineering as well as physics: developing materials that can endure extreme environments, alongside the processes needed to produce them reliably at scale. “Materials and manufacturing strategies are what will make fusion happen. You can study plasma physics all you like, but without the right materials and the right engineering solutions, fusion is impossible,” says Professor Bhattacharya. “That’s exactly what we are working to develop.”
Chair in Fusion Energy
Profile of Professor Arunodaya Bhattacharya, Professor of Fusion Energy in the School of Metallurgy and Materials, at the University of Birmingham.
