Britain’s prototype nuclear fusion plant will be designed using a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and supercomputers to save money, the government has announced.
Given the prospect of unlimited energy supply, the UK aims to have incorporated nuclear fusion-produced power into the grid by 2040.
Under new plans, Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and the University of Cambridge will collaborate to create a digital prototype of the STEP reactor “in a highly immersive and connected virtual environment,” the government announced on Wednesday.
“The digital twin will enable […] scientists and engineers to create a robust design in the virtual world to ensure ecosystem readiness and value for money,” the government said.
Supercomputers capable of making one quintillion calculations each second will be used alongside AI systems with “advanced predictive capabilities”.
UK Atomic Energy Authority director Rob Akers likened the move to the aerospace sector’s adoption of computer programmes to test aerodynamics.
“From structural forces to thermal heat loads, to electromagnetism and radiation. It's really a grand challenge simulation problem, which is where supercomputing and artificial intelligence come in,” he continued.
Net zero secretary Grant Shapps commented that the plan would turn “science fiction to science fact” meanwhile, with the government having committed £700mln for fusion development.
Nuclear fusion is how the Sun produces energy and sees light atoms bound together to create heavier particles, which can create more power than is put into reactors.
Unlike today’s fission reactors which split atoms, fusion does not leave behind radioactive waste, though the process does involve intense heat and pressure, making it difficult to pull off.