Cerberus Nuclear and Assystem have been chosen to supply the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) reactor in-board shield design as part of the STEP Engineering Framework. STEP is intended to be the prototype for a U.K. nuclear fusion energy power plant.
The STEP project will deal with the extreme environment inside the central column of the STEP fusion reactor. The temperatures inside the STEP reactor can vary from two hundred million degrees Fahrenheit within the plasma to less than minus three hundred and twenty-eight degrees Fahrenheit within just a few yard.
Cerberus Nuclear and Assystem are collaborating with the STEP research team at the U.K. Atomic Energy Agency (UKAEA) which carries out fusion energy research on behalf of the U.K. government. The collaboration is dedicated to developing radiation shielding and cooling strategies inside the in-board shield section of the central column.
The overall goal of STEP is to protect the sensitive toroidal magnets within the central column that work to control the high temperature plasma. The role of Cerberus involves the optimization of the shielding to maximize the operational lifetime of these critical reactor components. Utilizing its knowledge and expertise in neutronics transport as well as interaction cross sections, the company will be simulating a wide variety of arrangements to support continued development.
Gary Reed is the Transitional Energy Business Manager at Assystem. He said, “We are pleased to be working alongside Cerberus Nuclear on this key aspect of STEP. Collectively we will pool the engineering and design expertise, and specialist knowledge needed to ensure success in this project. Assystem is a well-established fusion engineering company working on multiple international projects, and we are invested in the UK's ambition to accelerate progress in the development of this game-changing technology.”
Daniel Cork is the Nuclear Director at Cerberus. He said, “Cerberus is very proud to be contributing to such a noteworthy project with worldwide importance. The skills and experience we have in-house regarding radiation shielding is uniquely suited to support the project. Working closely with our colleagues at Assystem we look forward to the challenge of what will be a highly significant and exciting project.”
The goal of the first phase of work on the STEP project is to produce a concept design by 2024. The second phase will include detailed engineering designs, with all relevant permissions and consents to construct the prototype. The third and final phase of the project is construction, with operations scheduled to begin around 2040. The aim is to have a fully evolved design and approval to construct the prototype by 2032 which will enable the construction to begin.
In December of 2020, the U.K. government called on local communities across the U.K. to put forward proposals to host STEP. Interested communities had until the end of March 2021 to submit their nominations. They were required to demonstrate that their local area has the right mixture of social, commercial and technical conditions to host the new plant. These include adequate land conditions, grid connection and water supply.
In October of 2021, UKAEA announced the that five sites, including one in Scotland and four in England have been short listed to host STEP. The short-listed communities include Ardeer in North Ayrshire; Goole in East Riding of Yorkshire; Moorside in Cumbria; Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire; and the so-called 'Severn Edge' bid from South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire.
On the conclusion of its assessment, UKAEA will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy with the successful site scheduled to be announced around the end of 2022.