SBRI funding for innovation in fusion energy

Apply for a share of up to £5.6 million to develop solutions for fuel cycle services which use lithium

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has launched a new Fusion Industry Programme challenge, offering up to £1.5 million per project for prototype development and evaluation in the fusion energy fuel cycle.

This challenge is about lithium, the key material for fusion. The technologies that are sought within this programme include:

• lithium enrichment
• tritium extraction
• conversion and manufacturing

The aim of the competition is to encourage innovation in the development of lithium in an economic, sustainable, and scalable fusion energy fuel cycle.

Up to four contracts will be awarded to develop a prototype and undertake field testing. To be eligible, projects must:

• start by 1 October 2023
• end by 31 March 2025
• last between 6 to 18 months
• have total costs of up to £1.5 million, inclusive of VAT

Find out more about this SBRI lithium challenge.

For those interested in the challenge, UKAEA is running a free webinar on 5 June 2023. Register now to attend the webinar.

First published 26 May 2023