University of York awarded funding for fusion research and training
Posted on Tuesday 2 September 2025
The University of York will be part of a collaboration with the UK Atomic Energy Authority's (UKAEA) Fusion Opportunities in Skills, Training, Education and Research (FOSTER) programme - which will see £3m invested in fusion energy research and training over the next five years.
Potential
Fusion has the potential to provide a near-limitless source of low carbon energy by copying the process that powers the sun and stars where atoms are fused together to release energy. It offers vastly superior efficiency, is far safer, and generates much less waste material than burning coal, oil or gas.
The collaboration between the University and UKAEA will enable the University to recruit research and teaching fellows in fusion, expand the Fusion Energy MSc, Fusion Industry School and develop a Frontiers of Fusion massively open online course (MOOC).
Urgent
To achieve this, the government’s Fusion Skills Council has identified an urgent need to grow a skilled fusion workforce by up to 3,000 people in the next five years, and the University of York is in a strong position to respond to this challenge.
Its influential research, groundbreaking Fusion Energy MSc and leadership of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Fusion Power are strengths that will help the UK meet its fusion goals.
Professor Stephen Smith, Head of the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology at the University of York, said: “Fusion development and innovation is gathering pace - to sustain this we need highly trained individuals. This is why the School and University are investing long term in fellowships and educational programmes.”
Strengths
Professor Erik Wagenaars, Director of the York Plasma Institute, said: “Our strengths across fusion and plasma science enable this growth; our inclusive research and teaching culture is key to expanding impact across science, and the emerging engineering and technology that will make fusion happen.”
The funding was secured from the skills programme with the UK government’s Fusion Futures initiative.
