Day: October 11, 2018

A leading science hub has been granted permission to expand so more hi-tech businesses can call its Oxfordshire site home.

In a visit today to Culham Science Centre, Science Minister Sam Gyimah announced that the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) would be able to expand the site to create new facilities for companies working in fusion-related fields. The centre already hosts around 60 companies, including 20 start-ups, employing around 1,500 highly skilled science and engineering specialists.

The site is home to some of the world’s most exciting fusion research. It has hosted the world’s most powerful fusion experiment, JET (Joint European Torus), since 1983. Minister Gyimah addressed staff during his visit, underlining the government’s commitment to fusion research post-Brexit.

Science Minister Sam Gyimah said:

From fusion energy, to software for driverless cars, to air-breathing rocket engines, this site is engineering some of the most exciting science in the world.

The UK is an innovation powerhouse and with science and tech experts moving here, thriving here and growing their businesses here, it’s a vote of confidence in UK science industry. We are committed to attracting and retaining both homegrown and international talent and will keep supporting international collaboration as we tackle the grand challenges of tomorrow and build a Britain fit for the future.

CEO of UKAEA Professor Ian Chapman said:

The minister’s announcement is excellent news and means we can begin to establish Culham as a home for hi-tech business in fusion and adjacent sectors and reinforce Oxfordshire’s status as a powerhouse of innovation.

The visit was also an opportunity to show the Minister how UKAEA’s new research facilities will help to get fusion energy on the grid. Fusion could be the ultimate low-carbon energy source, but commercialising it entails overcoming challenges in physics, materials science, engineering and robotics. Recent government support is enabling Culham and the UK to be right at the centre of this world-changing technology.

Addressing staff during the visit, Minister Gyimah also announced:

• a new academic partnership with the US to make the most of transatlantic research talent and international collaboration – the £3.6 million 3-year scheme will see an exchange programme for post-doctoral researchers from UKAEA to undertake extended visits to Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory to work on key areas of common interest in fusion science
• new government funding to extend the UKAEA materials research facility – the facility tests materials that can withstand high energy neutrons from the fusion reaction; critical to the economic viability of both nuclear fission and future fusion power stations

The government has made a clear commitment to science in its ambitious modern Industrial Strategy, which sets out the aim to boost private and public investment in research and development to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

Notes to editors

1. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) manages the UK’s fusion research programme at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), one of the world’s leading fusion research laboratories. CCFE is based at Culham Science Centre (the freehold of which is held by UKAEA). As well as UKAEA, Culham Science Centre – frequently abbreviated to Culham – also hosts a number of technology, research and engineering companies, creating a hub of cutting edge innovation and enterprise in South Oxfordshire.
2. UKAEA operates the world’s largest fusion experiment, the Joint European Torus (JET) on behalf of the European Commission. JET holds the world record for fusion performance and is a vital stepping stone in preparation for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project – under construction in France – which will test the viability of the first fusion power stations.
3. UKAEA’s operation of JET is funded through a contract with the European Commission through Euratom. The JET underwrite was one of the first proactive actions the government undertook following the triggering of Article 50. We guaranteed our share of the JET costs until the end of 2020, even in the event of a ‘no deal’, and are working with our EU partners to agree the contract extension.

Attended by ministers from BEIS, Defra and DFID, the roundtable helped to realise further growth in overseas investment in the UK Agri-Tech industry as ministers reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the UK becomes a world leader in agricultural technology, innovation and sustainability.

Hosted at 10 Downing Street, the event was the fourth in the government’s series of investment roundtables which promote UK industry sector opportunities to a global audience, and drive foreign direct-investment into the UK as we prepare to leave the European Union.

Ministers discussed the government’s strategic vision for the UK Agri-Tech sector with senior executives from across the industry, whose companies in total employ 10,000 people across the UK.

Companies who attended include AGCO, Alltech, BASF, Bayer Crop Science, Calysta, Elanco, Marine Harvest, MSD, Syngenta, Vitacress and Zoetis

Dr Fox and his colleagues together highlighted that:

• underpinned by a modern Industrial Strategy, the UK is at the forefront of Agri-Tech innovation and offers an established business-friendly environment for investors
• UK Government’s commitment to the future success of the sector is clear: UK Government-funded agencies are investing £400 million in agri-food research, with an internationally competitive R&D tax credits scheme
• the recent Agriculture Bill also provides an further opportunity for Agri-Tech investors, aiming to help farmers deliver a cleaner and healthier environment through increased productivity and investment in the latest technology
• a new start-up visa, launching in Spring 2019, will also make the visa process faster for entrepreneurs to enter the UK

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox MP said:

Today’s Agri-Tech roundtable is an excellent opportunity for the UK to further build on already strong relationships with investors, and for them to strengthen their ties with the UK science base and farming industry.

As an international economic department, we want to work with investors across the world to embrace technology and make the UK a global leader in agricultural productivity, improve competitiveness and sustainability.

In doing so, these investments will create jobs and prosperity for rural communities across the country.

Environment Secretary, Michael Gove MP, said:

The UK is a world-leader for talent in agriculture and technology, so there are real opportunities for our burgeoning Agri-Tech sector. Harnessing technology enables our hard-working farmers to become even more productive and environmentally efficient.

We are already seeing the rewards of investing in Agri-Tech, with further funding of around £30 million confirmed today for farmers to purchase hi-tech equipment. We know that by embracing technology – such as fruit ripeness spectrometers or calving detectors – farm businesses can become more efficient, productive and resilient.

Business and Industry Minister Richard Harrington said:

Agri-Tech businesses are revolutionising farming, from hands-free harvesting, to driverless vehicles and drones to plant and tend to crops. Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we have already committed £90 million to transform food production, inspiring more innovative farming and boosting productivity and highly skilled jobs for the future.

New investment will put the UK at the forefront of robotics, AI and data science to meet the food demands of a growing population.

The UK’s agriculture sector employs half a million people and contributes to the wider agri-food supply chain – valued at £112 billion in 2017 and employing 4 million people.

The roundtable comes at an opportunity moment for the government to engage with the Agri-Tech sector, as the UK looks to contribute to future global food security and international development by ensuring safe, healthy, nutritious food is affordable and accessible to all.