The Fusion Industry School 2024

The Fusion Industry School is a 2-week interactive programme of lectures from world-leading experts in fusion, aimed at providing an overview of the current progress and challenges to industry professionals. The programme has been developed by Fusion Centre for Doctoral Training and UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) with input from industry partners. The school consists of lectures, networking sessions, panel discussions and Q&As as well as visits to the UKAEA national fusion facilities.

The first week takes place in York and has an emphasis on the underpinning fusion science and technology.   The second week is in Oxfordshire and will build on this first week, emphasising more the engineering applications.   The programme is optimised for delegates attending both weeks, but you will still benefit if you are only able to attend one.  You do not need to have prior knowledge of fusion science and technology.

AIM OF THE PROGRAMME

ITER is expected to start operating later this decade; national demonstration fusion power plant programmes are accelerating around the world, such as STEP in the UK; and private investment in fusion companies is ever-growing with the drive towards the first commercial power plants. Fusion energy is entering its industrialisation era, and the associated supply chain must grow to deliver fusion to the market and, in the near term, benefit from the opportunities.

The Fusion Centre for Doctoral Training and UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) have worked with the fusion community to prepare a 2-week programme  created to meet the needs of the emerging fusion industry and associated supply chain companies and organisations, as fusion develops into the industrialisation era in readiness for commercialisation.

LECTURES

Lecturers are drawn from fusion experts in the UK and internationally. They will introduce you to the breadth of fusion technology and the essentials of the underpinning science, as well as provide you with an understanding of the international fusion energy landscape. In addition to the lectures and networking with other delegates and our PhD students, you will have opportunities to question and debate with leading experts in the field during panel discussions. As part of the school, we are organising tours to the fusion facilities hosted by UKAEA, which include the Joint European Torus (JET) fusion experiment, the MAST-U tokamak, Materials Research Facility and RACE robotics centre (exact tours currently to be confirmed for 2024).

The aim of the Fusion Industry School is to introduce you to the breadth of fusion energy. Thus, while the lectures will be technical, we will endeavour to ensure they are accessible to delegates from a range of backgrounds. Nevertheless, we anticipate that those with a physical sciences or engineering degree, or equivalent experience, will benefit most. No specific knowledge of fusion energy will be assumed.

FEES

The school fee is set at £1100 per person for each week (exempt from VAT), covering all aspects of the programme, such as refreshments and lunch each day, as well as the formal school dinner and reception. Note that this fee does not include accommodation and evening meals, other than the formal dinner. Any surplus funds will be used in support of future Fusion Industry School events, as well as to fund initiatives that support the ambitions of the Fusion CDT Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy.