Culham Science Centre is the hottest place on the planet and home to some of the world’s coolest science. Owned and managed by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), Culham Science Centre combines world-class publicly funded research into fusion power, commercial technology organisations and an Innovation Centre and has started to form a world-leading fusion technology cluster with the potential to create a powerhouse of high technology innovation and enterprise in South Oxfordshire.
STEP
STEP is a UKAEA programme that will demonstrate the ability to generate net electricity from fusion. It will also determine how the plant will be maintained through its operational life and prove that potential for the plant to produce its own fuel. The first phase of the programme is to produce a concept design by 2024.
MAST Upgrade
MAST Upgrade is exploring the route to compact fusion power plants, testing reactor technology and addressing physics issues for the international ITER fusion project. It keeps the UK at the forefront of global research into fusion energy.-
Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE)
RACE is another new facility (opened in 2016). It offers state-of-the-art testing for remotely controlled and robotic equipment for use in hazardous environments such as nuclear reactors and deep-sea oil and gas operations. The expertise at RACE comes from over 20 years of developing remote-handling technology for the JET fusion device at Culham.
The Oxford Advanced Skills training centre enables Oxfordshire businesses to offer young people hi-tech and engineering apprenticeships of the highest quality. It offers unique benefits for employers, apprentices and the local economy in one of the most thriving areas for science and technology in the UK.
A major employment location in Oxfordshire, Culham Science Centre is a key part of the globally significant science, technology and innovation cluster known as Science Vale. As well as being home of the JET, MAST-U, MRF, STEP and RACE facilities, it also has a diverse community of over 40 public and private sector organisations comprising some 2200 jobs. Culham is a great location for business to thrive: a place to create, a place to innovate, a place to grow.
Sited in one of the most successful science locations in the country, reflecting the cross-cutting and inter-disciplinary nature of the strengths of the Science Vale cluster, Culham Science Centre hosts a wide range of organisations. Examples include: Reaction Engines Ltd, an exciting aerospace company developing the technologies needed for an advanced combined cycle air-breathing rocket engine that will enable aircraft to operate easily at speeds of up to five times the speed of sound or fly directly into Earth orbit; General Fusion: Transforming the world’s energy supply with the most practical path to fusion energy, and ABSL Enersys: Global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications. Manufacture and distribute reserve power and motive power batteries, battery chargers, power equipment, battery accessories and outdoor equipment enclosure solutions to customers worldwide.
