Nuclear fusion lab praised by Boris Johnson in Tory conference speech is funded mostly by EU

A major UK nuclear laboratory praised by Boris Johnson in his Conservative conference speech is heavily reliant on EU funding, it has emerged.

The prime minister lauded the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire during his address at the gathering, saying the lab “could soon be the hottest place in the universe” if scientists are able to make a breakthrough in producing energy from nuclear fusion.

But the main technology at the centre – a reactor named the Joint European Torus (JET) – is almost entirely funded by the European Commission and has been described as “a shining example of scientific cooperation between EU members”.

Under a contract that was extended earlier this year, 88 per cent of the JET running costs were paid for by the EU – totalling around £60m per year.

The new contract will see the EU provide at least €100m (£89m) of funding until the end of 2020 – the point at which the Brexit transition period is due to end.

The technology, which supports around 500 jobs at Culham, is used by scientists from across the EU and coordinated by the bloc’s EUROfusion project.

The government has committed to continuing UK funding for the project after Brexit, but the centre’s future is in doubt because it is overseen by EU atomic agency Euratom – which the government has said the UK will leave when it leaves the EU.

Mr Johnson told the Tory conference in Manchester: “Thanks to British technology there is a place in Oxfordshire that could soon be the hottest place in the solar system: the tokamak fusion reactor in Culham.

“And if you go there you will learn that this country has a global lead in fusion research, and that they are on the verge of creating commercially viable miniature fusion reactors for sale around the world, delivering virtually unlimited zero-carbon power

“Now I know they have been on the verge for some time – it is a pretty spacious kind of verge – but remember it was only a few years ago when people were saying that solar power would never work in cloudy old Britain and that wind turbines would not pull the skin off a rice pudding.”

JET is operated by the UK’s Atomic Energy Authority. When the contract extension was announced, its chief executive, Professor Ian Chapman, said: “JET has been a shining example of scientific cooperation between EU members, and this news means that these mutually beneficial collaborations will continue, allowing us to do essential experiments on the path to delivering fusion power.”

Experts also poured scorn on Mr Johnson’s claim that Culham was “on the verge” of creating commercially viable fusion reactors. The centre’s own website says that electricity produced by nuclear fusion is still “30-40 years” away.

Work on nuclear fusion is seen as highly important because the process could eventually meet the world’s energy needs by providing clean, safe and limitless fuel. A series of crucial tests are due to take place using the JET next year, which will pave the way for further experiments at a new international fusion reactor being built in the southern France.​