These services are aimed at organisations requiring rapid development, qualification, and supply of advanced materials for demanding operating environments.

Building on its established R&D services, Oxford Sigma now provides integrated development-to-production support, enabling faster iteration, improved quality control, and the delivery of bespoke material solutions. Capabilities include wet chemistry, powder processing, hydrogen handling, and the processing of oxygen- and moisture-sensitive materials under inert atmosphere conditions. By combining R&D expertise with in-house manufacturing, Oxford Sigma reduces development timelines and enables tighter control over material specification, processing, and quality.

These facilities support both collaborative development programmes and the direct supply of specialist materials, including lithium-rich ceramics for tritium breeding applications.

These capabilities enable Oxford Sigma to transition from research and development into production support, offering customers a single partner for materials innovation through to supply.

Oxford Sigma Manufacturing Services Include:

• Bespoke material development and optimisation
• Pilot batch and small-scale production
• Process scale-up and qualification support
• Controlled handling of sensitive materials
• Supply of specialist materials including lithium-based ceramics

Customers can submit material requests, discuss requirements, or initiate development programmes via: www.oxfordsigma.com/products

Dr Alasdair Morrison, Oxford Sigma CTO, said:

“Our facilities allow us to offer bespoke materials and control over processing, handling and quality for a range of specialised materials for extreme environment applications. This investment and effort ensure that Oxford Sigma can provide both a holistic service to our customers, and to enhance the development of our own technologies.”

About Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is a Materials Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma produces advanced materials technologies for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion and extreme environment materials and technological leader.

Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com

Developed for UK Fusion Energy Ltd (UKFE), the SSMC will enable critical testing of magnet technologies required for the STEP programme. The coil will support dedicated test campaigns to validate magnet performance, thermal behaviour, and structural integrity under conditions representative of fusion operation, helping reduce risk in scaling up to full tokamak systems.

Manufacture of the coil is being carried out by Rockwood as part of a close partnership with Oxford Sigma, combining expertise in advanced fusion materials, precision manufacturing, and cryogenic composite systems. This collaboration reflects the strength of UK industrial capability in addressing the complex engineering challenges associated with delivering commercial fusion energy.

The successful production and testing of the SSMC directly supports priorities set out in the UK Fusion Strategy and underpins progress towards delivery of the STEP prototype power plant.

Dr Thomas Davis, Co-founder and CEO, Oxford Sigma said:

“At Oxford Sigma, we focus on turning fusion strategy into deliverable engineering. Working in close collaboration with Rockwood, this Sub‑Scale Model Coil demonstrates how UK industry can combine materials expertise, manufacturing capability, and system understanding to deliver critical hardware for STEP and the UK Fusion Strategy.”

“The STEP Sub‑Scale Model Coil has allowed Rockwood to bring many years of cryogenic composite engineering experience into one of the UK’s most important fusion programmes. Working closely with Oxford Sigma, we’ve addressed complex manufacturing and integration challenges, and we’re proud to be contributing hardware that supports the UK’s pathway to clean fusion energy.”

“Oxford Sigma and its subcontractor Rockwood are making strong progress towards the UK Fusion Strategy milestone, supporting STEP’s Sub‑Scale Model Coil manufacture and insulation material down‑selection. Rockwood’s advanced manufacturing capability in cryogenic composite systems has been central to addressing complex build and integration challenges, while maintaining a proactive approach to the delivery schedule for testing.”

About Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is a Fusion Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader.

Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com

About Rockwood Cryogenics

Rockwood Cryogenics, part of The Rockwood Group, delivers high-performance cryogenic composite solutions. They specialise in the manufacture of components and assemblies engineered from advanced materials, all destined for demanding, low-temperature applications.

Get in touch at info@rockwoodcomposites.com

About STEP Fusion

STEP Fusion (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) is the UK’s flagship programme to develop a prototype fusion power plant, combining government and industry expertise to deliver clean, abundant energy.

Find out more at www.stepfusion.com

Oxford Sigma has applied its experience in fusion materials and manufacturing to progress the practical manufacture of hydrogen isotope exchange material powders. The work, conducted over several years, has advanced activity from early manufacturing scoping through to trial production and in‑house delivery of material, providing a credible UK route for supply.

Tritium exchange systems are a critical part of fusion fuel cycles, enabling the controlled separation, capture, and recycling of hydrogen isotopes required to fuel deuterium–tritium fusion reactions. Hydrogen isotope exchange materials play a key role in these systems through their ability to reversibly absorb and release isotopes under controlled operating conditions.

Establishing confidence in the manufacture and supply of hydrogen isotope exchange materials, including palladium‑based compounds, is essential for the reliable and scalable deployment of tritium handling systems in future fusion facilities.

Outcomes from the collaboration between Oxford Sigma and UKFE help reduce uncertainty in fuel cycle implementation, support long‑term UK supply chain readiness, and contribute to the technical foundations required for future specification development and scale‑up aligned with STEP objectives.

Commenting on the work, Dr Emily Rose Lewis, Project Lead on hydrogen isotope exchange materials and Nuclear Materials Engineer at Oxford Sigma, said:

“We have developed hydrogen isotope exchange materials from initial manufacturing scoping through to trial batches and representative quantities of material produced in‑house. Progressing toward a draft specification has been a key milestone, and it’s exciting to be working with UK fusion partners to help stimulate a new market for the UK fusion industry.”

Oxford Sigma continues to work closely with UKAEA, UKFE, and wider industry partners to support the maturation of materials and manufacturing capability required for fusion fuel  cycle technologies, contributing to the safe, secure, and scalable deployment of fusion energy in the UK.

About Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is a fusion technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of rolling out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader.

Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com

About UKFE Ltd

UK Fusion Energy Ltd (UKFE) is a UKAEA Group subsidiary company, leading delivery of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) prototype power plant at West Burton in Nottinghamshire. UK Fusion Energy will integrate fusion technology in partnership with industry, delivering a complete fusion product, with STEP as the first major programme.

Developing UK capability in hydrogen isotope exchange materials is an important step in maturing the technologies needed for future fusion fuel cycles. Collaborations such as this help strengthen the UK fusion supply chain and support the long-term delivery ambitions of the STEP programme. For an overview of the fusion fuel cycle, see the UKAEA official YouTube channel: The Fusion Fuel Cycle

For more at https://stepfusion.com/

Image credit: An artistic visualization of a Mobius strip on a lattice background signifying the key role that differential geometry and topology play in describing the dynamic properties of metamaterials. Fabio Semperlotti and Mohit Kumar.

The publication presents key developments in the conceptual design of plasma‑facing components (PFCs) for the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), the UK’s flagship programme to deliver a first‑of‑a‑kind fusion prototype power plant.

Oxford Sigma led key aspects of the materials selection strategy and plasma‑facing component design development, contributing its expertise in high heat‑flux materials, thermal management concepts, and engineering down‑selection. The company played a central role in assessing manufacturability, technology readiness level (TRL), and performance trade‑offs to support a credible and deployable limiter architecture for STEP.

Limiters are strategically placed PFCs installed on the first wall of a fusion device. Their primary role is to manage ultrahigh transient heat loads caused by plasma disruptions, such as vertical displacement events, effectively reducing damage to other critical in-vessel components.

The paper describes the current STEP Limiter architecture and documents the evolution of the limiter PFC design . The updated concept  adopts a jet impingement gas-cooled, featuring tungsten armour paired with a CuCrZr alloy heat sink, representing a transition away from earlier tungsten heavy alloy concepts. The revised design covers a larger plasma-facing surface area and incorporates an internal manifold alongside pin fins to substantially improve cooling performance. The addition of pin fins enhances heat transfer to the coolant, enabling the use of higher technology readiness level (TRL) materials, such as copper alloys and establishing a more robust and dependable engineering pathway for the STEP program.

The full scientific paper, STEP Limiter Architecture and Plasma-Facing Component Concept Design, is available through the IEEE Xplore digital library:

Kaijanen et al., “STEP Limiter Architecture and Plasma-Facing Component Concept Design,” in IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, doi: 10.1109/TPS.2026.3679931.

“Managing the extreme transient heat loads from plasma disruptions is one of the most demanding engineering challenges in fusion energy. By evolving the limiter architecture to incorporate pin fins and copper alloy heat sinks, we are leveraging higher TRL materials to deliver robust, realistic solutions for the STEP prototype power plant. This paper highlights the critical importance of practical engineering in accelerating fusion commercialisation.”

— Dr Leandro Tanure, Senior Materials Engineer, Oxford Sigma

About Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is a Fusion Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader.

Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com

About STEP / UKFE

STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) is a major technology and infrastructure programme that will demonstrate net energy from fusion, fuel self-sufficiency and a route to plant maintenance. UKAEA is STEP’s fusion partner and will work alongside STEP’s industry partners. The STEP programme is being delivered by UK Fusion Energy Ltd (UKFE) a wholly owned subsidiary of UKAEA Group. UKFE will lead STEP’s integrated delivery team to design and build the prototype plant at West Burton site in Nottinghamshire, targeting first operations in 2040s.

The five-hour workshop provided a detailed technical walkthrough of the Division 4 rewrite lead by Oxford Sigma, including structure, scope, and application to fusion systems. The rewrite is intended to establish a constructible, engineering-usable framework to support the design and delivery of fusion components, including:

• Materials, qualification, and certification
• Design and structural integrity
• Fabrication, examination, and testing
• Quality assurance requirements for nuclear service

The framework is:

• Technology-neutral, applicable across fusion approaches
• Environment-driven, based on service conditions and degradation mechanisms
• Component-focused, addressing structural integrity in nuclear environments

This work reflects an evolution from guidance to practical construction rules, informed by early use of the 2023 Code Edition and ongoing international input.  The rewrite has now entered the ASME committee ballot process, where it is subject to formal review, comment, and technical scrutiny by the codes and standards community.

The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPV Code) Section III, Division 4 establishes a technology‑neutral, fusion‑specific construction framework defining requirements for materials, design, fabrication, examination, testing, certification, and quality assurance for components operating under nuclear service conditions, with applicability determined by service environment, degradation mechanisms, and required structural integrity, rather than traditional fission-based assumptions.

Division 4 is developed through a formal, consensus‑based ASME process and is now in committee ballot, where it is subject to international review, comment, and technical scrutiny, with contributions—including those from Oxford Sigma—forming part of, but not representing, the collective standard.

“The Division 4 rewrite represents a transition toward a practical, engineering-usable construction framework for fusion systems. We have proposed and developed a structure that reflects how fusion components are designed, manufactured, and assured in practice. Critically, this work is being developed through a rigorous, consensus-based ASME process. The level of engagement, challenge, and technical scrutiny seen during the workshop and now through ballot review is essential to ensuring that Division 4 develops as a robust and internationally credible standard.”

Dr Thomas P Davis, Co-founder and CEO at Oxford Sigma

“The focus of the rewrite is ensuring that Division 4 can be applied in practice, aligning design, materials, and manufacturing into a coherent framework that reflects how fusion systems are actually engineered at the present. At its core, the ASME BPV Code represents established best practice, developed by engineers responsible for the design and construction of real nuclear systems. In areas where fusion technologies are still evolving, ASME provides the structured, mature engineering foundation against which these systems must be defined, validated, and ultimately delivered.”

Dr Emily Rose Lewis, Nuclear Materials Engineer at Oxford Sigma

About Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is a Fusion Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader.

Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com

The engagement forms part of ongoing technical exchanges supporting the development of fusion‑specific construction codes and standards. Insights from ITER’s engineering and delivery programmes are being considered by standards organisations as input to draft rule development for fusion components, with particular attention to component classification, safety intent, and evidence‑based engineering practice.

Discussions included how experience derived from ITER’s design, procurement, construction, and licensing activities can help inform future draft requirements for metallic and non‑metallic structural components, cryogenic systems, superconducting magnet structures, and associated supporting systems. The exchanges also highlighted the value of grounding emerging fusion standards in practical operating and delivery experience.

A further focus of the visit was international code awareness and alignment, including the technical interface between ASME, JSME, and European regulatory and standards frameworks. Continued dialogue between standards bodies and fusion delivery organisations supports the longer‑term objective of interoperable approaches to fusion plant design and construction across regions.

Oxford Sigma supports ongoing collaboration between international standards organisations and fusion delivery programmes, recognising the importance of transparent, consensus‑based standards development processes informed by shared technical experience. The visit to ITER strengthened professional connections and provided a basis for continued technical exchange as draft fusion construction rules continue to evolve.

““Fusion standards development benefits when draft requirements are informed by real engineering and delivery experience. Technical exchanges such as this help ensure that emerging fusion construction rules are practical, proportionate, and evidence‑based.” Dr Thomas Davis, Co-Founder and CEO Oxford Sigma.

About Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is a Fusion Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader.

Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com

Founded on 19 March 2019 by Dr Thomas P. Davis and Jonathan Musgrove, Oxford Sigma was created to solve the hardest materials challenges standing between the United Kingdom and commercial fusion energy. Breaking the new normal funding route for high technology scaleups, Oxford Sigma has accepted no seed funding and has achieved its progress through 100% organic revenue including participation in UK Government innovation programmes. Seven years on, the company stands as one of the clearest examples of how strategic government support, deep scientific expertise, and British industrial leadership can be guided to give capability for a sovereign fusion industry.

BUILDING A UK-LED FUSION SUPPLY CHAIN

UKAEA partnerships have been instrumental in strengthening Oxford Sigma’s technical maturity and accelerating the development of the UK’s fusion engineering capabilities. From its Oxford headquarters, the company has delivered major advancements including cutting-edge materials technologies for fusion, nuclear, and defence applications; novel tungsten-based and liquid-metal–compatible innovations for breeder blankets and in-vessel components; future powerplant focused engineering methodologies and design tools critical for deployment; dedicated lithium ceramics for tritium breeding; palladium-based materials for tritium extraction; extensive support to UKAEA programmes including STEP; and establishment of a dedicated materials development laboratory, based on the Culham Campus.

Oxford Sigma’s UK-rooted capability is now recognised worldwide as fusion moves rapidly towards commercialisation.

SEVEN YEARS OF GROWTH: OXFORD SIGMA TODAY

Over the past seven years, engagement with UKAEA and UK Government contracts and innovation programmes has helped propel Oxford Sigma into a leading developer of advanced materials for extreme-environment systems across fusion, nuclear, and defence. Highlights of this progress include:

• More than 100 years of combined team member experience spanning fusion materials, processing, qualification, testing, and simulation.
• A highly technical team with 90% STEM‑educated, and 43% holding PhDs in materials or nuclear systems.
• A professionalised team with 25% Chartered Engineers and more than 90% of the remainder working towards chartership.
• A growing global footprint spanning Oxford, Culham Campus, and Arlington, Virginia, USA.
• Supporting the chair of ASME BPVC Section III Division 4 on Fusion Energy Devices, shaping the codes and standards that will underpin future fusion power plants.

Oxford Sigma is an active collaborator within the UK fusion ecosystem through UKAEA, the Fusion Industry Programme (FIP), the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), and international partnerships. These UK Government innovation programmes with SMEs are essential to enable:

• Expansion of UK‑based manufacturing and test capability
• Development of new, protectable intellectual property
• Acceleration of materials qualification and component design
• Translation of research into deployable engineering solutions
• Growth of a highly specialised UK workforce
• Strengthening of Britain’s sovereign fusion supply chain

These programmes have delivered the foundational support that allowed Oxford Sigma to stay fully independent, fully focused on technical excellence and delivery. Oxford Sigma has been a successful participant in multiple SBRI competitions, including the Fusion Industry Challenges: Cycle 2, and subsequent competitions advancing fusion materials and manufacturing solutions, Cycle 4 (pulsed power), Cycle 5 (diagnostics), and Cycle 6 (shielding), accumulating to now offering products to the market though our commercialisation achievements. These programmes have increased the company’s export to support fusion energy.

“Seven years ago, we founded Oxford Sigma to solve the materials challenges that stand between aspiration and real fusion power. Engaging with UKAEA and UK Government innovation programmes have been instrumental in helping us turn scientific capability into industrial reality. We are proud to be a British company contributing to the nation’s energy security, advancing fusion commercialisation, and supporting the development of a sovereign UK supply chain. As we move forward, we remain committed to delivering the materials, designs, and standards needed to make fusion power plants a global reality. UKAEA and UK Government are making real impact to the SMEs across the UK fusion supply chain, and we would encourage other SMEs like us to take full advantage of the support and access to their initiatives.”

— Dr Thomas P. Davis, Co‑Founder & CEO, Oxford Sigma

Good engineering starts with evidence. In fusion, that means demonstrating how a material behaves under neutron (fuel type dependent) irradiation, thermal, mechanical, and chemical conditions, not relying on assumptions or idealised properties. This is the purpose of qualification: a structured, engineering‑led process that establishes confidence that a material or component will perform its intended function in its intended environment.

Qualification is frequently mistaken for codification, but the two are fundamentally different. Codification places a material into a design code. Qualification generates the evidence that makes codification, and safe operation, possible (component dependent). Because fusion environments vary between designs, only the owner or designer can determine what evidence is needed. This paper provides a clear, graded framework that shows how to build that evidence chain and how early qualification accelerates the path to codification and deployment.

Importantly, the paper makes clear that qualification does not need to be fully complete before a fusion facility begins operation. Fusion programmes can adopt a phased approach, where early, time‑limited operation proceeds under controlled conditions while further evidence is generated. The level of qualification required before first plasma depends on the owner’s risk tolerance, the functional role of the component, and the degree of uncertainty reduction the owner judges acceptable. This graded approach enables progress while still building the datasets needed for long‑term justification and eventual codification.

A central message of the paper is that qualification, not just nominal material properties, determines how quickly fusion systems can be built, justified, and licensed. Using detailed case studies of Eurofer97 and SiCᶠ/SiC composites, the paper explains why qualification evidence gaps, not theoretical performance, are the rate‑limiting step for deployment.

• Eurofer97, although relatively mature, still requires key evidence such as irradiated creep behaviour, weld performance under representative conditions, and environmental compatibility datasets.
• SiCᶠ/SiC composites offer exceptional high‑temperature and low‑activation behaviour but require advances in joining technologies, irradiation testing, and the adoption of probabilistic design approaches appropriate for brittle composite systems.

These comparisons illustrate why tailored, component‑specific qualification pathways are essential before materials can be codified for pressure‑boundary use.

The full scientific paper is available through the Journal of Nuclear Engineering Special Issue Fusion Materials with a Focus on Industrial Scale‑Up, cited as:

Lewis, E.R.; Anderson, G.; Martinez de Luca, D.; Young, B.A.; Davis, T.P. Qualification Pathways for Fusion Structural Materials. J. Nucl. Eng. 2026, 7, 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/jne7010023

“Qualification is not about having complete knowledge before first operation; it’s about reducing uncertainty to a level the owner considers acceptable. Early, limited operation can generate essential evidence, and codification follows only when that evidence is mature. This graded, risk‑informed approach is what will allow fusion technologies to advance at pace.”

~ Dr Thomas P Davis, Co-Founder and CEO, Oxford Sigma

“It’s vital that we keep fusion anchored in engineering reality. Commercialisation will only accelerate if first‑of‑a‑kind devices are built using qualified, well‑understood materials, not ‘unobtanium’, but dependable systems we know how to justify and inspect. Proof‑of‑concept must come first, and using reliable materials is the surest route to delivering safe, trustworthy, power‑generating fusion plants.”

~ Dr Emily Rose Lewis, Nuclear Materials Engineer, Oxford Sigma

About Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is a Fusion Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader.

Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com

Working with our partners at Ice Nine, Oxford Sigma delivered a structured outreach programme engaging with key FORT-relevant organisations across multiple tiers of the UK supply chain. These discussions provided insight into current capabilities, testing approaches, and readiness for qualification activities, ensuring the FORT pathway reflects practical UK needs.

With no dedicated standard currently available for qualifying robotics for fusion‑like radiation environments, the FORT initiative draws on best‑practice approaches from high‑integrity sectors such as aerospace, defence, and nuclear fission, while recognising fusion’s unique operational demands.

This work builds on Oxford Sigma’s strong background in qualification methodologies, strengthened by Oxford Sigma’s CEO, Professor Thomas Davis’ leadership in materials qualification and his ongoing contributions to quality standards, design codes, and international standards development through the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler & Pressure Vessel (BPV) Code for Fusion Energy Devices and ISO standards. This foundation also ensures that the FORT initiative directly supports the future development of fusion-specific Codes and Standards, helping establish a clearer qualification landscape for robotics technologies in fusion environments.

The developing FORT process spans four layers of technologies: components (including sensors and communications), joint‑level sub‑systems (actuators, automation), and complete robotic systems, and incorporates materials considerations where they influence performance, reliability or lifetime. It is being shaped around representative fusion‑like parameters, including environments targeting ≥ 1 MGy total ionising dose, and the need to address end‑of‑life waste pathways.

Through this initiative, Oxford Sigma aims to help UK companies benchmark capability, enhance radiation‑tolerant design and testing expertise, and position themselves for future fusion programmes. Recent outreach has engaged materials and cable suppliers, actuator and component manufacturers, sensing and control specialists, test laboratories, system integrators, engineering consultancies, and digital‑design providers. This ensures that the emerging FORT qualification pathway is industry‑informed, technology‑agnostic, and well aligned with UK supply‑chain strengths.

Garin Schoonhoven, Project FORT Qualification UKAEA Team Lead:

“This project work was made possible through the Fusion Futures Industry Capability (FFIC) funding, and RACE (UKAEA) is pleased to have contracted Oxford Sigma who have delivered significant progress in the critical area of qualification for fusion robotics technologies. This foundation will help support the development of UK fusion industry as well as provide a pathway for qualification of radiation technologies in parallel markets”

Dr Emily Rose Lewis, Project FORT Qualification Team Lead at Oxford Sigma Ltd, said:

“Qualification is one of the most critical enablers for fusion robotics, and FORT represents a major step in preparing the UK supply chain for the challenges and opportunities ahead. Establishing a high-level, transparent qualification pathway now means we can accelerate innovation, reduce development risk, and position UK industry to lead in the emerging global fusion sector.”

Dr Matthew Nancekievill, CEO at Ice Nine Robotic Solutions:

“It is clear to me that robotics will play a large role in the safe management and operation of future fusion facilities. Fusion represents a new frontier for robotic use-cases that will require different qualification approaches to those undertaken in environments such as nuclear fission, space and medicine and this project highlights that through collaborations within the supply chain, we can enable this future together.”

About Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is a Fusion Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader.

Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com

About Ice Nine Robotics Solutions

Ice Nine develops mobile robotic solutions for hazardous inspection and characterisation tasks. Our priority is to remove humans from harmful environments, with a focus on industries such as Nuclear Decommissioning. We can both design bespoke robotic solutions from the ground-up, or modify existing technology through to deployment on-site. Having deployed in many regulation rich environments, we are well versed in developing safety cases, with a large amount of irradiation campaign experience to determine fault conditions of robotic sub-systems and electronics when exposed to ionising radiation.

Get in touch at info@ice9robotics.co.uk

About the UKAEA

UKAEA is the national organisation responsible for the research and delivery of sustainable fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

UKAEA runs the fusion machine MAST-Upgrade (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) and is delivering the transition of JET from plasma operations to repurposing and decommissioning. The insights gained from this process will contribute to the advancement of sustainable future fusion power plants.

STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) is a major technology and infrastructure programme that will demonstrate net energy from fusion, fuel self-sufficiency and a route to plant maintenance. UKAEA is STEP’s fusion partner and will work alongside STEP’s industry partners – one in engineering and one in construction – with the following short-list announced here.

The STEP programme is being delivered by UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd (UKIFS) a wholly owned subsidiary of UKAEA Group. UKIFS will lead STEP’s integrated delivery team to design and build the prototype plant at West Burton site in Nottinghamshire, targeting first operations in 2040.

UKAEA is now engaging in Fusion Futures, a programme that aims to foster world-leading innovation whilst stimulating general industry capacity through international collaboration and the development of future fusion power plants.

UKAEA also undertakes cutting edge work with research organisations and the industrial supply chain in a wide spectrum of areas, including robotics and materials.

More information: https://www.gov.uk/ukaea. Social Media: @UKAEAofficial

About fusion energy

When a mix of two forms of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) is heated to form a controlled plasma at extreme temperatures – 10 times hotter than the core of the Sun – they fuse together to create helium and release energy which can be harnessed to produce electricity. There is more than one way of achieving this. UKAEA’s approach is to hold this hot plasma using strong magnets in a ring-shaped machine called a ‘tokamak’, and then to harness this heat to produce electricity in a similar way to existing power stations.

The Projects STUBBI (Shaping TUngsten By Bonding It) [patent pending] and SHyELD (Shielding by Hydride Engineering for Lightweight Deployment) build on Oxford Sigma’s established expertise in advanced materials and manufacturable shielding solutions. Leveraging our internal development facility and specialist partners, we are advancing kilogram‑scale prototypes designed with both scalability and neutronic performance in mind. Following development, these materials will undergo irradiation testing to validate shielding performance under representative fusion conditions.

Figure: Project STUBBI-II, prototype tungsten shielding material for fusion power plants.

Figure: SHyELD manufactured metal hydride at Oxford Sigma.

Oxford Sigma’s shielding programme takes a holistic engineering approach, ensuring our materials meet the functional, thermal, structural, and operational requirements of fusion environments. Our designs prioritise real‑world integration, including structural interfaces, cooling strategies, and manufacturability, to ensure our shielding technologies align with the needs of emerging fusion power plants.

Oxford Sigma’s programme carefully balances the competing requirements of high‑performance shielding: robust material behaviour under irradiation, manufacturability at scale, cost‑effective deployment, and integration into complex fusion systems. We apply our engineering and materials science expertise to ensure our products are suited to the realistic operating conditions of future fusion power plants currently in development.

If you are interested in exploring or procuring Oxford Sigma’s advanced shielding materials for your fusion or nuclear systems, please reach out to our team at info@oxfordsigma.com. We welcome collaboration with organisations seeking high‑performance shielding solutions and materials innovation.

Dr Diego Martinez de Luca, Project Lead for STUBBI said: “The development of novel and scalable manufacturing processes for production of large tungsten components for radiation shielding is a key aspect for the operation and safety of future fusion plants. We are proud that our technology is supported by the UKAEA and are looking forward to proving its feasibility”

Dr Bradley Young, Project Lead for SHyELD said: “The Oxford Sigma materials team is excited to be developing metal hydride materials to enable improved shielding and moderating components for advanced nuclear reactor concepts, across both fusion and fission technologies. Analysis of the shielding function of these hydrides has shown extremely promising performance and we look forward to developing the manufacturability and in-situ stability to bring these products to the market, enabling and accelerating clean energy..”

Lyndsey Mooring, Head of the Fusion Industry Programme, said: “Novel shielding materials and technologies are a cornerstone for viable future fusion energy power plants, as well as other aligned industries. The response to this competition demonstrated the impressive breadth of research being done within the UK that could help solve this challenge. The Fusion Industry Programme is delighted to support 13 feasibility studies and see what progress is made in this interesting area of research, development and innovation (RDI).”

Mark Gilbert, Head of Programme for Neutron Materials Interactions, said: “Shielding is a critical safety requirement for any system involving the production of ionising radiation, including the neutrons and gamma fields expected in fusion systems. It is important to develop shielding solutions for both in-vessel, where space is constrained, and ex-vessel, that are robust, economically viable, and have minimised environmental impact. This challenge is asking UK industry to explore novel solutions for the different shielding applications in fusion.”

About Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is a Fusion Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader.

Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com

About the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is the UK’s national fusion energy research organisation. They are an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

UKAEA’s mission is to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy and maximise the scientific and economic benefit. They do this by being technical experts, partnering with companies and the international research community.

At the core of UKAEA’s efforts is the operation of world-leading facilities that build a comprehensive knowledge base for fusion energy. By addressing and solving the challenges across the full lifecycle of fusion, and integrating solutions from various disciplines, we establish technical centres of excellence that serve as the foundation for future fusion power plant programmes.

UKAEA collaborates with its partners to develop fusion power plants by providing access to our skills, facilities and expertise. UKAEA owns UK Industrial Fusion Solutions (UKIFS) on behalf of the UK government. Through UKIFS, we’re spearheading the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme to design and build the UK’s first prototype fusion energy power plant in Nottinghamshire.

To grow the fusion ecosystem, UKAEA focuses on cultivating skilled talent, growing the fusion industry and creating ‘innovation clusters’. We actively seek opportunities to advance fusion technologies and communicate its vast potential to stakeholders and the public alike to accelerate fusion energy’s future – the energy of tomorrow we need today.

More information: https://www.gov.uk/ukaea. Social Media: @UKAEAofficial

This breakthrough represents a significant advancement for the UK’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme, which aims to deliver a prototype fusion powerplant at West Burton by 2040. Central to the demonstration was a specially designed coil manufactured by Oxford Sigma, internationally recognised for developing advanced fusion materials and technologies for extreme environments, alongside Rockwood Cryogenics, a leading provider of high-performance cryogenic composite solutions.

The successful demonstration provides a safer and smarter method of protecting the critical Toroidal Field (TF) coils responsible for confining plasma within the tokamak. This development further demonstrates the strength of UK innovation and cross sector collaboration in addressing fusion’s most demanding engineering challenges.

Howard Wilson, Director of Science and Technology for STEP Fusion, commented:

“This breakthrough shows how UK expertise across sectors is helping solve fusion’s toughest engineering challenges.”

Mélanie Bombardiere, Head of Commercial, Oxford Sigma said

“We are proud to contribute our advanced materials technology to this milestone, as it helps drive innovation and support the development of safe and reliable fusion power for the future.”

About Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is a Fusion Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader.

Get in touch at info@oxfordsigma.com

About Rockwood Cryogenics

Rockwood Cryogenics, part of The Rockwood Group, delivers high-performance cryogenic composite solutions. They are specialised in the manufacture of components and assemblies engineered from advanced materials, all destined for demanding, low-temperature applications.

About Atled Engineering

Atled Engineering provides advanced finite element modelling and analysis for high temperature superconductors, specialising in HTS magnet design, quench and AC loss studies, and electromagnetic thermal simulations for fusion and other complex scientific applications.

About STEP Fusion

STEP Fusion (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) is the UK’s flagship programme to develop a prototype fusion powerplant, combining government and industry expertise to deliver clean, abundant energy.
www.stepfusion.com

In her new role, Dr Lee leads Oxford Sigma’s engineering division, driving continuous improvement across the organisation and strengthening our company’s quality governance frameworks to ensure the successful delivery of complex, high-impact projects. Her appointment marks a significant step in expanding Oxford Sigma’s engineering capabilities to support the rapidly growing global fusion ecosystem.

Dr Lee brings a multidisciplinary background spanning aerospace engineering, experimental thermofluids, experimental rig design and commissioning, and fusion materials and manufacturing. She holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Brunel University London. Prior to joining Oxford Sigma, Dr Lee spent nearly five years at Tokamak Energy, where she held leadership roles central to fusion materials and in-vessel technology programmes.

Throughout her career, Dr Lee has delivered a wide range of industry-funded and R&D projects. She is recognised for her ability to transform engineering challenges into opportunities for innovation, organisational learning, and team growth. Her leadership philosophy centres on empowering people: encouraging thoughtful risk-taking, embracing iterative learning, and fostering an environment where teams can excel. She is also a passionate advocate for STEM outreach and ED&I initiatives, championing a more inclusive and diverse engineering community.

Dr Lee’s appointment comes at a time of growth across the fusion sector, with increasing global demand for engineering leadership, advanced materials expertise, and high-assurance delivery that can scale with future fusion deployments. At Oxford Sigma, Dr Lee will be instrumental in shaping the evolution of the company’s engineering frameworks, enhancing delivery capabilities, and advancing Oxford Sigma’s mission to accelerate the deployment of safe, robust, and commercially viable fusion energy technologies.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr Vivian Lee to Oxford Sigma. Her deep technical expertise, leadership experience, and commitment to advancing fusion engineering make her an exceptional addition to our team. Dr Lee’s vision and drive will play a pivotal role in strengthening our engineering foundations and accelerating the safe and timely deployment of fusion energy technologies worldwide.”
Prof. Thomas P. Davis, CEO, Oxford Sigma

Oxford Sigma is delighted to welcome Dr Vivian Lee and looks forward to the vision, expertise, and energy she brings to the company’s next chapter. This appointment further strengthens Oxford Sigma’s mission to support the safe, timely, and coordinated delivery of fusion energy technologies worldwide.