UK Government Designates Fusion as a Key Focus in Industrial Strategy
The UK Government’s designation of fusion energy as a key focus in its newly released Industrial Strategy is important. The prioritization of fusion as a “Clean Energy Industry” by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) – on top of its recent £2.5 billion commitment – demonstrates the UK’s serious intent to lead the global race to rapidly bring fusion to market.
The Strategy notes that, “Where Britain has strengths, the Government will double down on them.” The Government “will… Use our position as a scientific superpower to sprint ahead in the global race for fusion energy technology and look to the future of clean energy.”
Already a leader in fusion R&D, the UK has a distinct advantage in deploying fusion. It is a sector positioned to be built in Britain and power the world. The Industrial Strategy rightly emphasizes the collaborative foundation of fusion: strong partnerships between Government, national labs, and private industry. This public-private model is not only at the heart of fusion’s breakthroughs – it’s also key to unlocking its economic potential.
The private sector has been the engine accelerating fusion’s path to commercialization. Fusion companies are not just promising future technologies – they are building real machines, investing across the country, and catalyzing regional growth. Pilot plants and ultimately commercial fusion energy systems will bring high-value jobs, strong supply chains, and broad energy infrastructure to the UK.
The priority now is to expand that partnership model and ensure fusion companies are empowered in the next phase of fusion development and deployment. That means supporting deployment, enabling long-term financing, and ensuring a smooth process to building and operating fusion machines in Britain.
Commercial fusion is coming. The UK has a window of opportunity to claim global leadership – but it must act now to scale up investment, unlock innovation, and lead the fusion-powered future.
“The global transition to net zero calls for huge investment in wind, nuclear fission and fusion, hydrogen, carbon capture, heat pumps, networks and other critical technologies. With this Sector Plan we are targeting at least a doubling of current investment levels across our frontier Clean Energy Industries to over £30 billion per year by 2035. These are the industries of the future. Industries that the UK is perfectly placed to specialise in. Industries that can create hundreds of thousands of jobs for engineers, technicians, mechanics, electricians, and welders in every corner of the country. But our vision will not just deliver jobs. It will create a new generation of good, industrial jobs with strong trade union representation and position the UK as a worldleading exporter of low carbon products, services and innovation.”
Rt Hon Ed Milibrand, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Our vision
By 2035 the UK will be a global leader in Clean Energy Industries, creating hundreds of thousands of good jobs at good wages across the country, supported by strong trade union recognition. We will become a world-leading exporter of low-carbon products, services and innovation.As a global leader, by 2035 we want the UK to:
The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, Clean Energy Industries, Sector Plan
- Be the most attractive place in Europe to invest in Clean Energy Industries.
- Have grown exports in all frontier Clean Energy Industries.
- Have created hundreds of thousands of good quality jobs across the country.
- Have driven higher domestic commercialisation of evolving clean energy technologies.
- Have secured more resilient and robust supply chains.
Below is the Strategy in full.
23 June 2025
