EU rebuffs UK attempt to continue collaborating on nuclear fusion experiment

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Financial Times or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: The European Union has denied the UK's request to continue participating in the Iter nuclear fusion project as a non-member, insisting that rejoining the Euratom civil atomic programme is essential for continued collaboration
• The UK had left Euratom following Brexit and seeks an outside partner status similar to Australia, which maintains a cooperation agreement with Euratom

🔭 The context: The UK's exit from Euratom was based on its assessment of not receiving sufficient value for its contributions
• It has since sought re-entry into other EU research schemes but stopped short of rejoining Euratom
• The Iter project is crucial as it represents the world’s largest attempt to build a commercially viable nuclear fusion reactor

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Nuclear fusion holds the promise of providing a vast amount of low-carbon energy
• As the world transitions towards sustainable energy sources, technologies like those being developed in the Iter project are critical for reducing reliance on fossil fuels and combating climate change

⏭️ What's next: The situation has reached a critical point as the existing contracts for UK scientists in Iter are set to expire in August
• Without an agreement on rejoining Euratom, the UK risks losing its collaborative ties and scientific contributions to this major international energy project

💬 One quote: "The UK participated in Iter as part of Euratom and it should do so on that basis if it wants to remain involved," stated an EU official

📈 One stat: Fusion for Energy, managing the EU’s contributions to Iter, has a budget of €1.4 billion covering 2021-2025

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