The United Kingdom and Japan have today (19 June 2025) confirmed
a new partnership on fusion energy, signing a Memorandum of
Cooperation (MoC)
between the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and
Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology.
Fusion supports the government's Plan for Change and its Missions
to Kickstart Economic Growth, through reaping the economic
benefits of innovation, highly skilled jobs, and tech transfer in
the near term, and making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower by
commercialising fusion energy and accelerating to net zero in the
longer-term. Our international collaborations will help us
commercialise fusion energy as quickly as possible.
The MoC,
which was signed by , Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Climate) and Hiroshi
Masuko, Senior Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology will further collaboration in key fusion
areas including research and development, regulation and skills
and workforce.
Fusion is the process that powers the Sun. When the nuclei of two
light elements are ‘fused', they form a heavier element and
release excess energy. Scientists around the world are developing
technology to use this process to generate energy here on Earth,
and the UK is a leader in this global endeavour.
This new collaboration with a key international partner builds on
the announcement of the UK-US Strategic
Partnership on Fusion Energy in November 2023,
the UK-Canada cooperation on
fusion energy: memorandum of understanding in February
2024 and the UK-Germany fusion energy research agreement in
December 2024 under the auspices of the UK-Germany Joint
Declaration of Intent. It follows on from a government
commitment for a record level of £410 million, announced in
January 2025, for UK fusion research and collaboration with other
countries to develop clean, unlimited power and drive economic
growth.
DESNZ and UKAEA officials
recently met with Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology and National Institutes for
Quantum Science and Technology (QST)
at the Culham Campus and enjoyed a productive discussion on
future UK-Japan collaborations and welcome the strengthened
partnership between UKAEA and QST following
this agreement.
The MoC is already
encouraging UK and Japanese counterparts to strengthen their
partnerships. We welcome announcements of UK-Japan fusion sector
cooperation, including a Memorandum of Understanding between the
UK's Fusion Cluster and the Japan Fusion Energy Council
(J-Fusion) to foster industrial collaboration, knowledge
exchange, and workforce development; a joint venture between
Tokamak Energy and Furukawa to manufacture critical fusion energy
power plant magnet technology; and the relocation of Kyoto
Fusioneering's UK Headquarters to the Culham Campus to join the
vibrant Culham fusion ecosystem.
