Culham Centre for Fusion Energy
Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) is the UK’s national laboratory for fusion research. CCFE (formerly known as UKAEA Culham) is based at Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire, and is owned and operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.
Today the UK fusion programme is centred on the innovative MAST (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) experiment and employs around 150 people. The programme is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the European Union under the EURATOM treaty.
In addition, CCFE hosts the world’s largest magnetic fusion experiment, JET (Joint European Torus), on behalf of its European partners. The JET facilities are operated for scientists from around Europe, who work together under the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA), co-ordinated by the EFDA-JET Close Support Unit. JET is situated next to the UK fusion laboratory. Around 500 people are employed at the JET facilities, with around 350 European scientists visiting each year to conduct research, and many from outside Europe.
