UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd (UKIFS) has announced the shortlisted organisations competing to become Engineering Partner and Construction Partner for Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), a programme to design and build a prototype fusion energy plant at the West Burton site in Nottinghamshire, UK.

A collaborative team from the public and private sectors will implement the STEP program, including UKIFS, UKAEA as the fusion partner, and selected engineering and construction partners. Initial contracts for engineering and construction are valued at several hundred million pounds until 2029. Subsequent phases will continue to build on this collaboration, aligning with the programme’s progressive development. The shortlisted organisations for STEP’s Engineering Partner are:  

• Celestial JV, consisting of Eni UK Limited as the lead member and AtkinsRealis, Jacobs Clean Energy (now Amentum), Westinghouse and Tokamak Energy as other members. 
• Phoenix (UK) Fusion Limited consists of Cavendish Nuclear Ltd as the lead member, KBR Ltd and Assystem Energy and Infrastructure Ltd as other members. 

The shortlisted organisations for STEP’s Construction Partner are:   

• Inovus Infrastructure, consisting of Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering as the lead member and Vinci Construction, AtkinsRealis, Mott Macdonald and WSP as other members. 
• ILIOS, consisting of Kier Infrastructure and Overseas as the lead member and Bam Nuttal, Nuvia Limited, AECOM Ltd, Turner and Townsend Infrastructure Ltd and Amanda Levete Architects Ltd as other members. 
• Ferrovial Mace JV, consisting of Ferrovial Construction UK Ltd as the lead member and Mace Consult Ltd as the other member.