University of Birmingham experts are part of a £200 million research programme supporting development of nuclear fusion, which promises limitless clean energy.
Nuclear fusion promises limitless clean energy.
The University of Birmingham has been awarded £800,000 to develop a small solid lithium ceramic breeder with in-line tritium detection capability for calibrated neutron sources, in partnership with Bangor University.
Birmingham’s award is part of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)’s £200 million Lithium Breeding Tritium Innovation (LIBRTI) programme, part of the UK Government’s support for nuclear fusion which promises limitless clean energy.
The LIBRTI programme aims to demonstrate controlled tritium breeding, a critical step for future fusion power plants. The University of Birmingham’s award builds on the a recently commissioned High Flux Accelerator-Driven Neutron Facility – the first facility of its kind in the UK.
Over the last few years the University has invested heavily in facilities and research that support fusion nuclear energy. We are incredibly pleased that the University can contribute to so much of this important work from the UKAEA to further strengthen our collaboration with other universities and fusion industry partners and establish us as one of the country’s fusion hubs.
While leading one project, the University of Birmingham is also involved in four other projects on small scale tritium breeding and digital simulation experiments being funded by UKAEA. Each of the projects is anticipated to run to March 2026 with outcomes expected to include new tritium transport models, the development of novel breeder materials and diagnostics, and digital platforms for the testbed facility.
The UKAEA announcement comes swiftly after the news that the University of Birmingham secured a multi-million-pound EPSRC Prosperity Partnership with Tokamak Energy which aims to accelerate fusion technologies by tackling critical challenges by performance-testing advanced tungsten-based shielding materials to protect high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets.
Professor of Physical Metallurgy at University of Birmingham and the Principal Investigator for the ceramic breeder project Yu-Lung Chiu said:
“Over the last few years the University has invested heavily in facilities and research that support fusion nuclear energy. We are incredibly pleased that the University can contribute to so much of this important work from the UKAEA to further strengthen our collaboration with other universities and fusion industry partners and establish us as one of the country’s fusion hubs.”
For more information, please contact Tony Moran, International Communications Manager, University of Birmingham on +44 (0)782 783 2312. For out-of-hours enquiries, please call +44 (0) 121 414 2772.
The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 universities institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 8,000 international students from over 150 countries.
Find out more about LIBRTI at UKAEA.
Professor of Physical Metallurgy
Staff profile for Professor Yu-Lung Chiu
