This year’s event is being opened up to a wider audience in the Livery and to those in the industry. It will be held in the SIM Hall otherwise known as Glaziers’ Hall.

Buy a ticket here : SIMposium tickets link

Prospectus

Power from nuclear fusion has begun to attract the attention of investors across the world.  While all nuclear-generated electricity to date has been based on fission or the “splitting of the atom”, there is now considerable and revived interest in an alternative way of generating nuclear-based electricity, from nuclear fusion, which involves, put simply, squashing atoms together.

The aim of a fusion reactor is to generate extreme conditions like those found at the centre of the Sun, which will cause hydrogen atoms continually to combine to make helium, and release huge amounts of energy in the process, with little radioactive waste.  While there has been progress in moving towards this goal, continuous energy production has still not been achieved, in spite of the significant research funding provided by many countries.

But new fusion enterprises are beginning to spring up, and they are attracting billions of pounds in private investment.  Does this intriguing new phenomenon mean that we are closer than was commonly thought, to generating economically competitive fusion energy?  The SIMposium has been organised in order to test this proposition, and to showcase the research and financial strategies being employed to overcome the scientific and engineering obstacles that lie along the path towards commercial viability.

SIMposium organised by the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers

The Master of the Scientific Instrument Makers organises the annual SIMposium, which focuses on an important scientific topic of his or her choice, with the added proviso that younger researchers in the fields of interest to the Company should, ideally, be given a chance to demonstrate their contributions.

This year’s SIMposium fits within the Lord Mayor’s theme of “Financing the Future”, which the Rt Hon Lord Mayor, Alderman Nicholas Lyons, promulgated in his Annual Address to the Livery.

Programme

SIMposium, 3 April 2023 – Economically competitive fusion energy 

• 9.30 Arrival – coffee and biscuits
• 10.00 Court Room, Leadership Session 1. 
• Chaired by Professor Philip Thomas, Master of the Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers
• 10.00 Introduction: Professor Philip Thomas
• 10.10 The global fusion landscape, Tom Davis (Oxford Sigma)
•  10.35 Questions
• 10.40  Introduction to fusion – UKAEA perspective, Tim Bestwick, Chief Technology Officer & Director Strategy, Communications and Business Development at UK  Atomic Energy Authority
• 11.05 Questions
• 11.10  Coffee
• 11.30  Court Room, Leadership Session 2
• Chaired by Charles Holroyd, Deputy Master, Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument Makers
• 11.30  Tokamak Energy – accelerating the development of commercial fusion, David Kingham (Tokamak Energy)
• 11.55  Questions
• 12.00  Learning curves for fusion: prospects for increased private investment, Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli, Company of World Traders
• 12.25 Questions
• 12.30  Open challenges for measurement in fusion, speaker from UKAEA.  
•  12.55  Questions
• 13.00 Lunch
• 14.00 River Room, Scholarship Session.
• 14.00 Opening of poster session, Prof. Tom Scott (Director of SW Nuclear Hub, University of Bristol)
• 14.15 onward: 12 Posters, primarily from younger researchers in industry and university
• 16.00  Tea available
• 16.30  Close