Clean energy drive results in £20m of contracts for Jacobs

US-based group Jacobs has won a £14.63m contract from the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to design and build a test facility linked to fusion power.

The deal is part of UKAEA’s research into design, engineering and manufacturing of components for fusion power stations.

The purpose of the facility is to test components for any fusion reactor, whether experimental, or to support designs for commercial electricity generation.

Jacobs will support UKAEA scientists, with partners from around the globe, to develop fusion as a new source of cleaner energy for tomorrow’s power stations.

Last month Jacobs, which already employs 1,100 staff in Warrington and Manchester, acquired the nuclear business of John Wood Group in a £250m deal, including operations which employ 1,250 staff in Cheshire.

Jacobs has also won a range of contracts linked to clean energy with an estimated combined total value of £20m, from Fusion for Energy (F4E), ITER Organisation and the UKAEA.

Much of the work on these projects will be carried out at Birchwood and Knutsford in Cheshire.

“These new contracts add to our considerable, long-term contribution to the ITER project and keep us at the forefront of nuclear fusion, which could provide future generations with a clean, safe and virtually unlimited source of energy,” said Jacobs critical mission solutions international senior vice president Clive White.

He added: “As innovators with a combination of fusion-specific and cross-sector engineering experience, we are focused on delivering long-term efficiency and schedule certainty for this important project.”

The UKAEA contract involves support work on the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), a UK Government-funded programme to design and build a prototype fusion reactor, demonstrating its commercial viability.

The contracts address several key areas where Jacobs can develop innovations to help drive the design and implementation.