IEEE Symposium on Fusion Engineering to be hosted in Oxford as a UK first

By Tom Kilkelly

11 July 2023

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Oxford will become the epicentre of the global fusion community this week, the city will become the first in UK history to host IEEE SOFE 2023 (IEEE Symposium on Fusion).

This is also only the second time that the event has been hosted outside of the US.

According to GOV.UK the event will have a record attendance with over 700 delegates from 26 countries being hosted by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).

Speaking ahead of today’s opening ceremony, Dr Heather Lewtas, Chair of SOFE 2023 and UKAEA’s Head of Innovation, said: “It is an extremely exciting time for fusion energy in the UK and internationally. SOFE 2023 provides an important platform where technical conversations between public and private fusion organisations can take place alongside the supply chain and academia. There has already been fantastic development in our field, but it will be the strength of our global community that will make fusion energy part of the world’s future power supply.”

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The event is being hosted at Examination Schools at The University of Oxford and will include: UKAEA’s Director of STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), Paul Methven, who will outline the progression and onwards journey of STEP – UK's prototype fusion energy powerplant; a Women in Fusion evening event, hosted by Creative Director of Chloé Gabriela Hearst; a Fusion companies panel discussion; and an international panel discussion.

Head of Advanced Energy Technologies at Atkins, Jason Dreisbach, said: “The UK is at the forefront of fusion development and Atkins is proud to be a sponsor of SOFE as it welcomes the international fusion community to the UK. The technological progress made in recent years means that SOFE has come at the perfect time to focus attention on commercialisation and the need to shift from theory towards engineering the science of fusion''.

By Tom Kilkelly

Tom Kilkelly started working as a freelance journalist for The Business Magazine following his graduation from UCL in 2022.

During his studies Tom became very interested in the works of Irish authors including Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan).

His current role as a freelance business reporter is his first exposure to the world of business journalism. Working at TBM has given Tom the chance to really get to grips with the goings-on in the business hive that is the South East.