ITER fusion project offers further subcontract opportunities
1 min read
UK industry has won well over £100 million worth of contracts so far from construction of the ITER fusion project in France, but needs to do better if it is to benefit from the next construction phase, worth up to €2 billion.
That is one of the conclusions of a UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) sponsored event on 'Business Opportunities for UK plc for Fusion and ITER' held at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE), Oxfordshire, in September.
UK companies have fared well during the site preparation phase at Cadarache in the South of France. The next phase will see a large portion of the project's €10 billion tokamak and buildings construction budget being spent. When completed in 2019 ITER will be the world's largest fusion energy experiment.
"The ITER project faces significant engineering and project management challenges where UK companies can compete effectively – either on their own or as part of a consortium. ITER is providing new business opportunities to companies who are keen to use their expertise in this prestigious programme," says Dan Mistry, CCFE fusion and industry manager.
"Currently UK is third in ranking (behind France and Italy) in contracts awarded but we want to be number one," continues Mr Mistry. "The only way we're going to climb is if more companies take note of these opportunities and respond. F4E (Fusion for Energy) has nearly €2 billion to spend in the next three years and we want to alert companies of these opportunities, so if you are interested please pre-qualify and register your details on ITER's, F4E's and our own database."
Companies wishing to find out more about ITER and how to register with ITER and F4E should contact Dan Mistry on 01235 466607 or email dan.mistry@ccfe.ac.uk
