Written evidence submitted by United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) (LEA0218)

Introduction

  1. UKAEA is responsible for managing the UK magnetic confinement fusion programme at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. Approximately 2/3rd of the current funding of UKAEA is direct EU funding. The UK programme forms part of the European roadmap to deliver fusion electricity by the middle of this century. Fusion has the potential to deliver low carbon energy, but there are significant science, technology and engineering challenges to overcome. These require powerful international collaborations to deliver, and the EU programme is one of the key world endeavours, linked to the international ‘next step’ device ITER, currently under construction in the south of France. The UK has a unique breadth and depth of experience and competence in fusion as a future energy source, and has a major influence on EU fusion research strategy.
  2. At Culham, UKAEA operates the JET fusion experiment on behalf of the European fusion research community, currently the largest EU funded research facility in the UK with operation costs of around £60m per annum. JET is the only experiment in the world capable of producing significant fusion reactions, thus UKAEA plays a leading role in world fusion research.
  3. The UK contributes 1/8th of the funding for JET though an EPSRC grant of around £25m pa, which also supports the UK’s MAST fusion project on the site. This investment levers the £60m pa contract from the European Commission to operate JET. This contract runs until the end of 2018, but it is imperative JET operations are extended until 2020 (to exploit high performance and set new fusion records) and beyond (where plans to internationalise operation are well advanced) in order to expedite ITER meeting the goal of producing 10 times as much fusion power as power put in. Initial discussions on these extensions have begun.
  4. UKAEA also receives EU research funding (currently around £6m pa) as a member of the EUROfusion research consortium.
  5. This funding also enables, through industry and university collaborations, development of related research and contracts associated with the international ITER fusion project. So far, UK companies have won more than €400m worth of contracts directly related to ITER; the European management of contributions to the ITER project is managed by ‘Fusion for Energy’ F4E, based in Barcelona.
  6. With additional UK funding outside of the EPSRC grant, UKAEA has been able to build its own portfolio of related facilities at Culham, including the Materials Research Facility, and RACE (Remote Applications in Challenging Environments) facility, both of which will bring in additional funding to the UK through EU and other contracts and research grants. Both also support the growth of future fission capability in the UK. Contracts worth over £100m from the EU / ITER have already been secured for the UK for joint work for RACE and industry.
  7. EU support of the fusion programme is crucial to the continued development of this high technology programme within the UK, with the ultimate aim of demonstrating low-carbon electricity by the middle of this century. UKAEA aims to take a leading role in the development of the EU demonstration reactor DEMO – indeed, longer term plans to host a major EU funded design centre for DEMO are well advanced, and this a central part of the long term viability of Culham as a centre of excellence for fusion research.
  8. The EU has worked hard over the last few years to ensure that all European fusion research is directed towards a common fusion roadmap to deliver electricity (managed under a contract between the EU and the EUROfusion consortium of member states). The UK currently has real influence on this EU research strategy through membership of the key EUROfusion and Euratom committees and strategic bodies. We are also able to have a say, through UK MEPs, on policy and funding discussions within the European Parliament.
  9. The Euratom treaty is a separate treaty from the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. However, leaving the EU could remove the UK (and hence UKAEA) from the Euratom programme, making operation of JET beyond 2018 much more uncertain and removing the UK from F4E, putting in jeopardy further UK industrial participation in ITER contracts and further EU / ITER contracts being placed with RACE and UK industry.
  10. We would seek as a matter of urgency, with our government sponsor BEIS, to find ways of still actively participating in Euratom and F4E – thus reinforcing UKAEAs undoubted position as the leading fusion laboratory in Europe.
  11. In answering the following questions we have concentrated on magnetic confinement fusion and related research funding from the Euratom programme rather than the total EU funding of research and development in the UK which is part of the wider Horizon 2020 research programme. We should also note that Research Councils UK (RCUK) are responsible for the overall fusion / fission research programmes as part of the Energy Programme, including research at universities and other organisations and the inertial fusion confinement programme at the Science and Technology Facilities Council and collaborators.

What the effect of the various models available for the UK’s future relationship with the EU will be on UK science and research, in terms of :

Collaboration

  1. The European fusion programme and the key role played in that by UKAEA is utterly dependent on collaboration; UKAEA operates JET so European fusion scientists, through EUROfusion, can undertake experiments to further understand fusion science and engineering. This collaboration between UKAEA and the other fusion laboratories in Europe is vital to ensuring the scientific exploitation of JET is maximised and Europe’s contribution to the ITER international collaboration is maintained.
  2. A complete UK withdrawal from Euratom may prevent JET operation beyond 2018, preventing vital experiments with the full fusion fuel mix (deuterium and tritium) for ITER, and putting in real jeopardy ITER successfully starting operation in the mid 2020s. Up to 1000 highly skilled UK science and engineering jobs could be lost and the UK’s position at the forefront of fusion research would be diminished forever. The rich and diverse collaboration with other European fusion researchers through EUROfusion would cease. Collaboration with UK high tech industry in winning ITER contracts (UK companies have already won contracts totaling over €400 million) and the placing of future contracts by ITER would be threatened. In short, UKAEA’s pre-eminent position in the collaborative European fusion programme could be destroyed. The end of JET operations would also bring forward the costs of decommissioning the facility, which is a UK responsibility, and is currently estimated at £280m, with redundancy and restructuring costs in addition to this.
  3. Becoming an associate member of Euratom (as in the case of Switzerland) may enable UKAEA to secure an extension of JET beyond 2018, and thus retain those vital jobs and skills in the UK. UK collaboration within EUROfusion may be retained and UK industry will still be able to bid for ITER contracts through F4E. However, it is difficult to envisage the UK/UKAEA maintaining the important position it currently holds in the European fusion programme without being a full member of Euratom.

Free movement of researchers and students

  1. Fundamental to the European fusion programme is the mobility of EU researchers. The operation of JET enables hundreds of fusion scientists from all over Europe to bid for, plan, undertake and analyse experiments as part of larger, cross border task forces and teams. In addition, UKAEA employs many longer term (2-3 year) secondees from EU fusion laboratories and permanent staff form EU countries.
  2. Over twenty different nationalities are represented at Culham, with large contingents of European scientists and technologists from Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Portugal, Poland, Greece etc., as well as India, China, US, Russia etc. Many of them have worked here for many years, and are settled in the UK.
  3. The fusion research and development being conducted at UKAEA is very specialist and international collaboration is essential to bring together the skills and knowledge to make progress in this area.
  4. A complete UK withdrawal from the EU would, by definition, prevent the free movement of EU nationals to the UK. The long term future of UKAEA in growing its technology programme, especially in robotics and materials science through the RACE and MRF facilities would be affected, if recruitment/retention from the wider EU of the best and brightest was prevented.
  5. Associate membership of Euratom may have to be accompanied by free movement of researchers to enable the UK’s role in JET, EUROfusion and ITER to be retained.

Access to funding

  1. As already discussed, with over 60% of UKAEA’s present funding coming in the form of a major contract with the European Commission to operate JET, the implications of a full UK withdrawal from Euratom has major implications for UKAEA, many of its highly skilled workforce and its high standing in the EU fusion research programme. Europe’s contribution to ITER would be adversely affected and UK industries access to the € multi-billion contracts opportunities in ITER would be curtailed. In addition, EU/ITER contracts to use UKAEA’s new RACE facility could be adversely affected and UKAEA’s aspiration to host an EU-funded Fusion DEMO design centre at Culham would be put in real jeopardy.
  2. Associate membership of Euratom would, in principle, enable the UK to still receive EU funding to operate JET beyond 2018, would still afford UKAEA and UK Plc to participate in the lucrative ITER project.

Access to EU-funded research facilities, both in the UK and abroad

  1. Aside from the obvious difficulty in extending JET operation, resulting in the early closure of the largest EU funded scientific experiment on UK soil, the withdrawal of the UK from F4E would significantly reduce the chance of UK companies in bidding for / winning ITER contracts – curtailing a lucrative opportunity that has already yielded contracts totaling over €400 million for UK companies.

Intellectual property and commercialisation of research

  1. The commercialisation of fusion as an electricity source in the future is likely to be unaffected by the short term impact of these decisions. However, the UK’s role in the commercialisation of fusion is in serious jeopardy and we could lose the leading role in this very large market by losing our current market lead. Furthermore, commercial advances in robotics and autonomous systems (through RACE) and materials science (through MRF) may be slowed by a significant reduction in overall UKAEA funding.

What the science and research priorities for the UK Government should be in negotiating a new relationship with the EU.

  1. Retention of full access to major EU funding programmes – such as H2020 and Euratom.
  2. Free movement of EU researchers / engineers to UK universities and research laboratories and protection of the rights of UK researchers working in the EU.
  3. Full access of UK researchers to major EU collaborative research projects

What science and technology-related legislation, regulations and projects will need to be reviewed in the run up to the UK leaving the EU.

  1. The Euratom Treaty and how the implications of leaving the European Union treaty affect this.

The status of researchers, scientists and students working and studying in the UK when the UK leaves the EU, and what protections should be put in place for them.

  1. It should be ensured that all EU researchers currently in the UK, can stay with no effect on their status and continue to make as free as possible the movement of EU researchers in the future. There is an urgency to offer reassurance to EU nationals currently working in UK science before we are unable to retain some of our brightest and best researchers.

The opportunities that the UK’s exit presents for research collaboration and market access with non-EU countries, and how these might compare with existing EU arrangements.

  1. We are already exploring internationalisation of JET - but this has to be underpinned by a strong, consistent European programme. We have strong links in the fusion community with the USA, India and all other ITER partners – but increasing these links will need a strong European foundations. It is not easy to envisage collaborations outside the EU replacing those currently within the EU.

What other measures the Government should undertake to keep UK science and research on a sound footing, with sufficient funding, after an EU exit.

  1. See above – protect the free movement of EU researchers in the UK and UK researchers in the EU and retain UK participation in EU funding programmes and science projects.
  2. The government should ensure that whatever the outcome, the funding to UK science in totality is at least protected.

 

 

August 2016