Tungsten West PLC (AIM:TUN) has signed an agreement to supply nuclear fusion technology company Oxford Sigma with critical metals, the AIM-listed miner announced on Monday.
Tungsten metal, which has a high melting point and can be used for radiation shielding and plasma-facing components, will be supplied from the company’s UK operations.
“Without a viable commercial pathway for the supply of tungsten from raw materials to the fusion community, the commercialisation of fusion energy faces significant delays,” Tungsten said in a statement.
Fusion is how the sun produces energy and involves light atoms being bound together to create heavier particles, in a process that can create more power than is put into reactors.
Though the process potentially offers a limitless supply of energy without leaving radioactive waste, it requires intense heat and pressure, making reactions difficult to control.
Tungsten West and Oxford Sigma will collaborate to “secure the source of raw tungsten material in the UK”, before rolling out tungsten-based components globally.
The former is currently focused on restarting production at the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine in Devon.
“By leveraging our combined expertise and resources with Oxford Sigma, we are proud to be at the forefront of, and are poised to unlock, the full potential of tungsten for fusion energy deployment,” Tungsten West boss Neil Gawthorpe said.