Oxford Sigma is pleased to be featured in the latest episode of the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Powering UK Prosperity series, where our Co-founder and CEO, Prof. Thomas Davis, discusses the company’s journey from a two-person start-up to a growing advanced materials engineering and manufacturing business supporting the fusion sector.
In conversation with UKAEA’s Jonathan Collier, Thomas reflects on Oxford Sigma’s growth over the past seven years and the role that collaboration, innovation, technology transfer and long-term investment have played in building the company’s capabilities.
Founded in 2019, Oxford Sigma has developed specialist expertise in materials engineering, environmental degradation, coatings, corrosion testing, manufacturing and qualification for demanding nuclear and fusion applications. Today, the company supports clients across fusion, fission and defence, with activities spanning materials development, engineering consultancy, testing and component manufacturing.
The discussion highlights the impact that targeted innovation funding and government programmes have had on the growth of fusion SMEs. In particular, Thomas describes how UKAEA’s Fusion Industry Programme helped Oxford Sigma establish liquid lithium capabilities, invest in specialist equipment and accelerate the development of technologies that now form part of the company’s core offering.
The interview also explores the broader opportunities presented by the emerging fusion supply chain. As the sector transitions from research and development towards engineering demonstration and deployment, Oxford Sigma continues to invest in the skills, facilities and technologies needed to support future fusion power plants, including the UK STEP programme and international fusion initiatives.
Reflecting on the future, Thomas emphasises the importance of scaling manufacturing capability, developing resilient supply chains and building the industrial confidence required to deliver fusion energy at commercial scale.
“We are grateful to UKAEA and the wider fusion community for their continued support in developing UK fusion capabilities and supply chains. Oxford Sigma remains committed to helping bridge the gap between research, demonstration and deployment through advanced materials engineering, manufacturing and innovation.”
Said Oxford Sigma CEO, Dr Thomas P Davis.
We would like to thank UKAEA for the opportunity to participate in the Powering UK Prosperity series and for their continued support of the UK fusion ecosystem.
You can watch the full interview on the UKAEA YouTube channel and learn more about how fusion innovation is helping to drive UK economic growth.
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 UKAEA
Who we are
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is the UK’s national fusion energy research organisation. We are an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
The work we do
UKAEA’s mission is to lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy and maximise the scientific and economic benefit. We 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 Fusion Energy (UKFE) on behalf of the UK government. Through UKFE, 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
About fusion energy
When a mix of two forms of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) is heated to form a controlled plasma at extreme temperatures – 10 times hotter than the core of the Sun – they fuse together to create helium and release energy which can be harnessed to produce electricity. There is more than one way of achieving this. UKAEA’s approach is to hold this hot plasma using strong magnets in a ring-shaped machine called a ‘tokamak’, and then to harness this heat to produce electricity in a similar way to existing power stations.