UK fusion lab faces uncertain future
A world-leading laboratory that has pioneered research in fusion energy for nearly 40 years faces uncertainty.
The Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in the UK is largely funded by the EU and dozens of its scientists come from outside the UK.
Since the Brexit vote, many at the centre have become “extremely nervous” amid uncertainty about future financing and freedom of movement.
Five researchers have already returned to continental Europe with others said to be considering their positions.
Since the 1970s, the Culham Centre has hosted an experimental reactor known as the Joint European Torus (JET) that holds the global record for sustaining the longest burst of fusion.
Among many scenarios being discussed, the most extreme would see the reactor closed down and dismantled with its key components shared out among remaining members of the EU.
Some 100 EU scientists from outside the UK are currently at the site and, according to Professor Steve Cowley, who was director of the facility until recently, many are “extremely nervous”.
He added: “We’ve certainly lost a few people already – these are highly talented people at the very forefront of scientific discovery and we can’t afford to lose them.
“This is the world’s greatest fusion lab and if we don’t find a way to make an agreement with Europe, this will all go – and our lead in this area will have been dissipated and I think that’s an enormous shame.
“We’d be bonkers to close it down, and Europe would be bonkers to close it down, but these are uncertain times.”
European funding runs at around €60m a year and the unknown is whether that will continue – or at what level – once the UK leaves the EU.
