Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of the Government's proposal to develop and build a commercially viable fusion power plant by 2040.
As announced over the weekend, the government has just approved a ground-breaking commitment to fund the first five-year phase of the STEP programme costing £220m. This phase will complete detailed design and development work will allow the UK to maintain its world-leading status in fusion and enable cost estimates for the full programme to be made in detail. The Government’s expectation is that later phases will involve significant private sector involvement and investment which will maximise the value for money for the public purse.