News listings

energy-pedia alternative energy

United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom

Europe / Caspian / CIS >>> United Kingdom

UK: UKAEA and Eni partner to develop tritium fuel cycle facility


11 Mar 2025

Photo - see caption

Eni and UKAEA have launched a research and technological development collaboration for innovative solutions in the field of fusion energy.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), the UK’s national organisation responsible for the research and delivery of sustainable fusion energy, and Eni, have entered into a collaboration agreement to jointly conduct research and development activities in the field of fusion energy. The collaboration primary starts with the construction of the world’s largest and most advanced tritium fuel cycle facility, a vital fuel for future fusion power stations. The 'UKAEA-Eni H3AT (pronounced ‘heat’) Tritium Loop Facility', located at Culham Campus will be complete in 2028.

Image credit: United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

Tritium recovery and re-use will play a fundamental role in the supply and generation of the fuel in future fusion power plants and will be crucial in making the technology increasingly efficient.

Fusion is a form of energy whereby the power of the Sun is replicated on Earth. The fusion process sees two hydrogen isotopes fuse together under intense heat and pressure to form a helium atom, releasing large amounts of emissions-free energy through a safe, cleaner and virtually inexhaustible process.

Fusion energy could be transformational to contribute to energy security and decarbonisation.

The 'UKAEA-Eni H3AT Tritium Loop Facility' is designed to serve as a world-class facility providing industry and academia the opportunity to study how to process, store and recycle tritium.

UKAEA and Eni will collaborate to develop advanced technological solutions in fusion energy and related technologies, including skills transfer initiatives. 

Eni will contribute to the H3AT project with its expertise in managing and developing large-scale projects, helping to de-risk its roadmap. This partnership combines UKAEA’s extensive expertise in fusion research and development with Eni’s established industrial-scale capabilities in plant engineering, commissioning, and operations.

UK Climate Minister, Kerry McCarthy, said: 'We are proud to be at the forefront of global innovation in clean energy fusion technologies, and this collaboration with Eni marks a significant step towards unlocking the potential of fusion energy, supporting our missions for economic growth, clean power and energy independence. The UKAEA-Eni H3AT Tritium Loop Facility will not only position the UK as a leader in the development of fusion fuel technologies but also accelerate progress towards a future of safe, sustainable, and abundant clean energy.'

Professor Sir Ian Chapman, CEO of UKAEA, said: 'We are delighted to be working with Eni who have shown great commitment to fusion. We believe that fusion energy can contribute to a net zero future, including going beyond the decarbonisation of electricity. The H3AT demonstration plant will set a new benchmark as the largest and most advanced tritium fuel cycle facility in the world, paving the way for innovative offerings in fusion fuel and demonstrating the UK’s leadership in this crucial area of research and development.'

Claudio Descalzi, Eni CEO said: 'Fusion energy is meant to revolutionise the global energy transition path, accelerating the decarbonisation of our economic and industrial systems, helping to spread access to energy, and reducing energy dependency ties within a more equitable transition framework. Eni is strongly committed to various areas of research and development of this complex technology, in which it has always firmly believed. Today with our UK partners we are laying the foundations for further progress towards the goal of fusion which—if we consider its enormous scope of technological innovation—is increasingly concrete and not so far off in time. To continue this virtuous development, international system-level technological partnerships like this one are indispensable.

Eni supports a socially fair energy transition with the aim of promoting efficient and progressively more sustainable access to energy resources. Eni places innovation at the centre of its strategic vision and it has transformed the businesses by investing significantly in research, development, and the implementation of technologies to progressively decarbonising its energy mix and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.' 

UKAEA’s mission is to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy and maximise the scientific and economic benefit. It aims to solve the challenges of this new energy source, from design through to decommissioning with world-leading science and engineering. UKAEA enables partners to design, deliver, and operate commercial fusion power plants around the globe and fosters the creation of clusters that accelerate innovation and help drive economic growth.

Original announcement link

Source: GOV.UK





Bookmark and Share


A global information service for upstream oil and gas opportunities - divestitures, farmins and farmouts and licensing rounds.


Subscriber Only Deals

Current Deals

Current Upstream Deals: 195

Completed Deals

Completed Upstream Deals: 6640

Company Profiles

Current Company Profiles: 2932

Corporate Activity

Current Corporate Activity articles: 4197

Companies Looking

Current number of articles: 466

Company Sales

Current Company Sales articles:1674

Geostudies

Current Geostudies articles: 1003

How to subscribe

energy-pedia Jobs

RSS Feed Widget
See all jobs...


energy-pedia Databank

The energy-pedia databank contains links to information on the world financial and energy markets, including share prices, oil and gas prices and the global stock exchanges. Read more...



energy-pedia Glossary

A list of commonly used terms in the oil and gas industry. Read more...

Subscribe

Subscribe to the FREE
energy-pedia Daily Newsletter
Subscribe

Union Jack Oil 149
energy365
Borchwix
Syntillica
Telos NRG
Rose & Assocs
OPC
Merlin
Bayphase
About energy-pedia

energy-pedia news is a FREE news service written and edited by E and P professionals for E and P professionals.

We don't just report the news, we give you the technical background as well, with additional information derived from our unique energy-pedia opportunities service.
Contact us

energy365 Ltd

238 High Street
London Colney
St Albans
UNITED KINGDOM

Tel: +44(0)1727 822675

Email: info@energy-pedia.com