The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is fast-tracking the UK-based fusion energy supply chain by supporting and partnering with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as key suppliers to the UK Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP). Oxford Sigma, an Oxfordshire-based SME, is one of the many SMEs that have benefited significantly from collaboration with UKAEA as the company celebrates its seventh anniversary.
Founded on 19 March 2019 by Dr Thomas P. Davis and Jonathan Musgrove, Oxford Sigma was created to solve the hardest materials challenges standing between the United Kingdom and commercial fusion energy. Breaking the new normal funding route for high technology scaleups, Oxford Sigma has accepted no seed funding and has achieved its progress through 100% organic revenue including participation in UK Government innovation programmes. Seven years on, the company stands as one of the clearest examples of how strategic government support, deep scientific expertise, and British industrial leadership can be guided to give capability for a sovereign fusion industry.
BUILDING A UK-LED FUSION SUPPLY CHAIN
UKAEA partnerships have been instrumental in strengthening Oxford Sigma’s technical maturity and accelerating the development of the UK’s fusion engineering capabilities. From its Oxford headquarters, the company has delivered major advancements including cutting-edge materials technologies for fusion, nuclear, and defence applications; novel tungsten-based and liquid-metal–compatible innovations for breeder blankets and in-vessel components; future powerplant focused engineering methodologies and design tools critical for deployment; dedicated lithium ceramics for tritium breeding; palladium-based materials for tritium extraction; extensive support to UKAEA programmes including STEP; and establishment of a dedicated materials development laboratory, based on the Culham Campus.
Oxford Sigma’s UK-rooted capability is now recognised worldwide as fusion moves rapidly towards commercialisation.
SEVEN YEARS OF GROWTH: OXFORD SIGMA TODAY
Over the past seven years, engagement with UKAEA and UK Government contracts and innovation programmes has helped propel Oxford Sigma into a leading developer of advanced materials for extreme-environment systems across fusion, nuclear, and defence. Highlights of this progress include:
- More than 100 years of combined team member experience spanning fusion materials, processing, qualification, testing, and simulation.
- A highly technical team with 90% STEM‑educated, and 43% holding PhDs in materials or nuclear systems.
- A professionalised team with 25% Chartered Engineers and more than 90% of the remainder working towards chartership.
- A growing global footprint spanning Oxford, Culham Campus, and Arlington, Virginia, USA.
- Supporting the chair of ASME BPVC Section III Division 4 on Fusion Energy Devices, shaping the codes and standards that will underpin future fusion power plants.
Oxford Sigma is an active collaborator within the UK fusion ecosystem through UKAEA, the Fusion Industry Programme (FIP), the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), and international partnerships. These UK Government innovation programmes with SMEs are essential to enable:
- Expansion of UK‑based manufacturing and test capability
- Development of new, protectable intellectual property
- Acceleration of materials qualification and component design
- Translation of research into deployable engineering solutions
- Growth of a highly specialised UK workforce
- Strengthening of Britain’s sovereign fusion supply chain
These programmes have delivered the foundational support that allowed Oxford Sigma to stay fully independent, fully focused on technical excellence and delivery. Oxford Sigma has been a successful participant in multiple SBRI competitions, including the Fusion Industry Challenges: Cycle 2, and subsequent competitions advancing fusion materials and manufacturing solutions, Cycle 4 (pulsed power), Cycle 5 (diagnostics), and Cycle 6 (shielding), accumulating to now offering products to the market though our commercialisation achievements. These programmes have increased the company’s export to support fusion energy.
“Seven years ago, we founded Oxford Sigma to solve the materials challenges that stand between aspiration and real fusion power. Engaging with UKAEA and UK Government innovation programmes have been instrumental in helping us turn scientific capability into industrial reality. We are proud to be a British company contributing to the nation’s energy security, advancing fusion commercialisation, and supporting the development of a sovereign UK supply chain. As we move forward, we remain committed to delivering the materials, designs, and standards needed to make fusion power plants a global reality. UKAEA and UK Government are making real impact to the SMEs across the UK fusion supply chain, and we would encourage other SMEs like us to take full advantage of the support and access to their initiatives.”
— Dr Thomas P. Davis, Co‑Founder & CEO, Oxford Sigma