A bid to build the world’s first nuclear fusion plant in Gloucestershire has received backing from a number of MPs and senior business leaders.
The Severn Edge site being proposed by the Western Gateway - a cross-border economic partnership of local authorities, city regions, local enterprise partnerships and government, stretching from Swansea to Swindon - is one of five under consideration by the Government.
The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (Step) project is part of the UK’s efforts to become the first country to commercialise fusion energy in a bid to meet future electricity needs and help it meet its net-zero targets.
The Western Gateway said the £220m proposed plant at Oldbury in South Gloucestershire, with an associated Science Park and Skills Centre at Berkeley in Gloucestershire, could bring billions of pounds of investment to the region and create some 31,000 jobs on both sides of the Severn.
MPs and business leaders from the South West and Wales came together to back the bid at a special House of Lords reception, hosted by Baroness Debbie Wilcox of Newport.
She said: “It augurs well for the future dynamic of the project if the changemakers in this room can put their collective strength behind this exciting, unique and powerful initiative.”
Among the MPs present was Stroud’s Siobhan Baillie who said the region had the “expertise” needed and the site was “ready to go”.
“We have nearly 12,000 nuclear businesses in our area with an amazing number of construction workers ready to build,” she said. “We have the ability to deliver - you only have to look at Hinkley Point C."
Ms Baillie said the Severn Edge bid was the only one which brought in another country with Wales as part of the Western Gateway powerhouse partnership.
The group behind the bid said in February it had received an “enthusiastic response” from communities close to its proposed site.
The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has said fusion has the potential to provide a source of low-carbon energy that creates nearly four million times more energy for every kilogram of fuel than burning coal, oil or gas. If the bid for the Gloucestershire site is approved, the plant could be operational as early as 2040.
“We are the first pan-regional partnership to bridge two countries in our great nation,” said Katherine Bennett, chair of the Western Gateway partnership.
“We are very excited to be part of the Severn Edge bid and it is a unique opportunity to strengthen the union.”
Will Lee, chief executive of Renishaw, was one of the business leaders supporting the bid. He said: "We see this as a unique opportunity to enthuse young people in our region about the ways that science and engineering can tackle real-world challenges and provide rewarding career options.”
A total of 15 sites across the country were long-listed following an open call for sites between December 2020 and March 2021, before being whittled down to five .
The four other locations shortlisted are Ardeer (North Ayrshire); Goole (East Riding of Yorkshire); Moorside (Cumbria); and Ratcliffe-on-Soar (Nottinghamshire).
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