Oxford Sigma has expanded its advanced shielding materials programme with two new research projects funded by Oxford Sigma, Henry-Royce Institute’s Industrial Collaboration Programme, and UKAEA that strengthen our development of high‑performance fusion shielding systems. These projects enhance our pipeline of novel materials solutions for both near‑term demonstrators and long‑term commercial fusion power plants.
The Projects STUBBI (Shaping TUngsten By Bonding It) [patent pending] and SHyELD (Shielding by Hydride Engineering for Lightweight Deployment) build on Oxford Sigma’s established expertise in advanced materials and manufacturable shielding solutions. Leveraging our internal development facility and specialist partners, we are advancing kilogram‑scale prototypes designed with both scalability and neutronic performance in mind. Following development, these materials will undergo irradiation testing to validate shielding performance under representative fusion conditions.
Figure: Project STUBBI-II, prototype tungsten shielding material for fusion power plants.
Figure: SHyELD manufactured metal hydride at Oxford Sigma.
Oxford Sigma’s shielding programme takes a holistic engineering approach, ensuring our materials meet the functional, thermal, structural, and operational requirements of fusion environments. Our designs prioritise real‑world integration, including structural interfaces, cooling strategies, and manufacturability, to ensure our shielding technologies align with the needs of emerging fusion power plants.
Oxford Sigma’s programme carefully balances the competing requirements of high‑performance shielding: robust material behaviour under irradiation, manufacturability at scale, cost‑effective deployment, and integration into complex fusion systems. We apply our engineering and materials science expertise to ensure our products are suited to the realistic operating conditions of future fusion power plants currently in development.
If you are interested in exploring or procuring Oxford Sigma’s advanced shielding materials for your fusion or nuclear systems, please reach out to our team at [email protected]. We welcome collaboration with organisations seeking high‑performance shielding solutions and materials innovation.
Dr Diego Martinez de Luca, Project Lead for STUBBI said: “The development of novel and scalable manufacturing processes for production of large tungsten components for radiation shielding is a key aspect for the operation and safety of future fusion plants. We are proud that our technology is supported by the UKAEA and are looking forward to proving its feasibility”
Dr Bradley Young, Project Lead for SHyELD said: “The Oxford Sigma materials team is excited to be developing metal hydride materials to enable improved shielding and moderating components for advanced nuclear reactor concepts, across both fusion and fission technologies. Analysis of the shielding function of these hydrides has shown extremely promising performance and we look forward to developing the manufacturability and in-situ stability to bring these products to the market, enabling and accelerating clean energy..”
Lyndsey Mooring, Head of the Fusion Industry Programme, said: “Novel shielding materials and technologies are a cornerstone for viable future fusion energy power plants, as well as other aligned industries. The response to this competition demonstrated the impressive breadth of research being done within the UK that could help solve this challenge. The Fusion Industry Programme is delighted to support 13 feasibility studies and see what progress is made in this interesting area of research, development and innovation (RDI).”
Mark Gilbert, Head of Programme for Neutron Materials Interactions, said: “Shielding is a critical safety requirement for any system involving the production of ionising radiation, including the neutrons and gamma fields expected in fusion systems. It is important to develop shielding solutions for both in-vessel, where space is constrained, and ex-vessel, that are robust, economically viable, and have minimised environmental impact. This challenge is asking UK industry to explore novel solutions for the different shielding applications in fusion.”
About Oxford Sigma
Oxford Sigma is a Fusion Technology company with a vision to tackle energy security and climate change by accelerating the commercialisation of fusion energy. Our mission is to deliver materials technology, materials solutions, and fusion design services. Oxford Sigma aims to produce advanced materials technologies, agnostic to fusion approach, for the materials ecosystem. Our fusion core materials are engineered to enable longer term operations for fusion pilot plants, with the aim of roll out to the first-of-a-kind commercial power stations. Oxford Sigma is internationally recognised as a key fusion materials and technological leader.
Get in touch at [email protected]
About the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is the UK’s national fusion energy research organisation. They are an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
UKAEA’s mission is to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy and maximise the scientific and economic benefit. They do this by being technical experts, partnering with companies and the international research community.
At the core of UKAEA’s efforts is the operation of world-leading facilities that build a comprehensive knowledge base for fusion energy. By addressing and solving the challenges across the full lifecycle of fusion, and integrating solutions from various disciplines, we establish technical centres of excellence that serve as the foundation for future fusion power plant programmes.
UKAEA collaborates with its partners to develop fusion power plants by providing access to our skills, facilities and expertise. UKAEA owns UK Industrial Fusion Solutions (UKIFS) on behalf of the UK government. Through UKIFS, we’re spearheading the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme to design and build the UK’s first prototype fusion energy power plant in Nottinghamshire.
To grow the fusion ecosystem, UKAEA focuses on cultivating skilled talent, growing the fusion industry and creating ‘innovation clusters’. We actively seek opportunities to advance fusion technologies and communicate its vast potential to stakeholders and the public alike to accelerate fusion energy’s future – the energy of tomorrow we need today.
More information: https://www.gov.uk/ukaea. Social Media: @UKAEAofficial