| Culham Science Centre Location Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB Contact Details Contact: Mike Hurp, Property Manager Tel: 01235 466392 Fax: 01235 466682 Email: mike.hurp@ccfe.ac.uk Website: www.culham.org.uk |  |
The Culham Science Centre Community Owned and managed by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Culham Science Centre combines world-class publicly funded research into fusion power, commercial technology organisations and Culham Innovation Centre, to create a powerhouse of high technology innovation and enterprise in South Oxfordshire, just a few miles south of the city of Oxford.Culham Science Centre's eighty hectare site is located within the green belt in rural Oxfordshire, offering a pleasant working environment, easily accessible through an excellent road and rail infrastructure. Culham Science Centre is sited in one of the most successful science locations in the country and is a partner in Science Vale UK, along with other public and private sector organisations in the area, to promote southern Oxfordshire as a global hot spot for enterprise and innovation in science, high technology and the application of knowledge. By being able to offer very flexible accommodation, Culham plays host to a wide range of organisations from small start-up companies via the Culham Innovation Centre, through to larger worldwide companies. Its excellent conference and restaurant facilities, together with ample parking and wide open green spaces, contribute towards a positive but relaxed campus atmosphere encouraging interaction and networking among its people. The commercial property portfolio is managed on site by a professional and dedicated United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority team. Further information, including details of the companies who are resident at Culham Science Centre, current property availability, together with news and events, is available on the campus website at www.culham.org.uk. Fusion Technology Research and Development  Culham Science Centre is the home of the UK fusion research programme, through the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE, the fusion research arm of the UK Atomic Energy Authority) and is the leading UK centre of excellence in plasma science and engineering. Culham Science Centre was established in the early 1960s as a purpose-built laboratory for the Euratom/United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority fusion programme, on a former Fleet Naval Air Arm airfield.Magnetic confinement fusion research in the UK began in 1945 at a number of leading universities. From the early 1950s onward, the main research efforts were based at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) at Harwell and Associated Electrical Industries at Aldermaston. ZETA, the first large-scale fusion device, was built and operated at Harwell in the late 1950s. Most of the efforts of these two laboratories transferred to Culham in 1963, where they have remained until the present day. Culham Centre for Fusion Energy at Culham Science Centre is the premier UK centre for magnetic confinement fusion research, concentrating on the tokamak line of machines. In addition to a series of UK tokamak devices, in 1978 Culham became the host to the European 'flagship' fusion project – the Joint European Torus (JET). JET has been operating to the present day – and since 2000 the UK Atomic Energy Authority has operated the JET facilities on behalf of Europe within the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA). The experimental programme is co-ordinated through an EFDA Close Support Unit also at Culham and is the principal experiment in the European Fusion Programme. Since 1990, Culham has also been prominent in spherical tokamak research with the operation of the world's first hot spherical tokamak, START. Spherical tokomaks are testing a more compact and potentially more efficient tokamak configuration. This was followed by a larger and more sophisticated machine, the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) which began operations in 2000. Following on from impressive results, MAST has now secured funding for a major upgrade, which will significantly expand its operational capability. MAST-Upgrade will be ready to start operation in 2015. ITER  The multi-billion Euro International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER) project is the next step in fusion research. Under construction in Cadarache, France, ITER builds on the success of JET and is intended to demonstrate integrated physics and engineering on a scale of a power station and is expected to produce 500 MW of fusion power. It is hoped that UK science park-based companies will play an active role in supplying technology and services to the ITER project. For more details, see www.fusion-industry.org.uk.The Culham Innovation Centre The Culham Innovation Centre is a dedicated business incubator aimed at attracting high technology start-up companies to the site. The centre has approximately 11,000 square feet of office/laboratory space, arranged into 35 units of varying size and is managed by Oxford Innovation Ltd. For more details, see www.oxin.co.uk/culham. Support for Industry Skills and technologies associated with fusion research can be useful to companies of any size. At Culham Science Centre start-up technology companies are able to draw on the skills of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority team working on one of the world's greatest engineering challenges. A Technical Support Package (TSP) has been developed by United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority to assist suitably qualified companies during the early stages of their business. Depending on their needs, the package could include, for example, technical advice and access to mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering skills, as well as computer modelling, precision diagnostics, cryogenic systems and microwave systems. United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority will also consider providing this support to suitably-qualified companies on other UK science parks. | |
News
Culham Innovation Centre marks 10 Years of innovation success
Senior representatives from the business, technology and research communities gathered at Culham recently to celebrate the key role played by Culham Innovation Centre in supporting the growth of innovative companies over the past 10 years.
View detailsTokamak Solutions secures funding to develop powerful neutron source
Successful funding round coincides with €110,000 contract award from ITER.
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