University of Glasgow: North Ayershire Pupils Back Fusion Power Proposal

Pupils from a North Ayrshire primary school are backing plans to bring a pioneering fusion energy plant to a former industrial site in Ardeer.

Children from P6 at Ardeer Primary School have produced a series of drawings of how the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) plant might look if the bid to bring it to their neighbourhood is successful.P6 pupils from Ardeer Primary in North Ayrshire show their drawings of the proposed STEP fusion power plant

The drawings will form part of a presentation from the bid’s backers to representatives of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) during their final site visit to Ardeer on Tuesday 25 January.

Early last year, UKAEA solicited bids from around Britain to find a suitable site to base STEP. The Ardeer bid, produced by a consortium called Fusion Forward (Ardeer) led by the University of Glasgow, North Ayrshire Council, and landowners NPL Group, is one of the five proposals under consideration. It is the only Scottish site still in contention.P6 pupils from Ardeer Primary in North Ayrshire show their drawings of the proposed STEP fusion power plant

The drawings illustrate some of the potential benefits of STEP for the region. Pupils have chosen to highlight how STEP could bring new jobs and training opportunities and explain how fusion power might help reduce carbon emissions around the world.

Fusion technology harnesses the energy generated when atoms are pressed together under conditions similar to those found in the centre of stars.

Unlike the fission reactions harnessed in conventional nuclear power plants, which generate potentially dangerous radioactive waste products, fusion reactions have the potential to create abundant zero-carbon power while producing helium, a harmless inert gas, as a by-product.