Lancaster University debuts innovative nuclear simulator

Lancaster University in England is the home of an unusual nuclear power simulator that can be used for both fusion and fission education.

In line with national plans: The simulator facility at Lancaster University includes a large wraparound screen and several different layouts that are aligned with the U.K. government's Modern Industrial Strategy and National Nuclear Strategic Plans. The simulator has a reconfigurable design with software for various types of nuclear reactors, such as pressurized water reactors, small modular reactors, and fusion reactors. The software codes were developed by Tokamak Energy, GSE Solutions, Westinghouse, and Norway's Institute for Energy Technology. A wide range of different scenarios can be configured with the software, and student interactions with the simulator can be recorded for later analysis.

The simulator is ready for use for the fall 2026 semester. University faculty expect it to rapidly become a valuable and popular teaching and training tool for students in undergraduate, master's, and doctoral courses.

Tokamak Energy's fusion focus: Oxfordshire-based Tokamak Energy announced last week that it had installed the Lancaster University Nuclear Operations Simulator, featuring the company's Sophia software, to provide undergraduate and postgraduate education and training in nuclear engineering, cybersecurity, and other related subjects.

Sophia was originally developed by Tokamak Energy to predict, simulate, and validate experiments with the company's ST40 spherical tokamak test bed, which is used to develop commercial fusion technologies. It is designed to generate maximum outcomes without the need to test multiple scenarios in the actual ST40 fusion machine, thereby fast-tracking results and helping to minimize issues of human error.

Tokamak Energy is a magnet systems partner in the United Kingdom's STEP Fusion program, a collaboration between government and industry to develop, scale, and commercialize fusion energy technologies. The stated mission of STEP is "to generate net energy from fusion and to stimulate an industry that will help prove its commercial viability" by "producing a prototype tokamak powerplant-in an innovative spherical shape-to provide energy to the grid."

Quotable: Rebecca Lingwood, Lancaster University's deputy vice chancellor, said of the debut of the simulator, "This fabulous new facility will augment Lancaster's long-established strength across disciplines such as nuclear engineering and cybersecurity, providing our students with a truly excellent learning experience. Lancaster University plays a vital role as an economic anchor institution in northwest England, and this facility will further enable us in helping to deliver a new generation of young people equipped with the skills needed to support a low-carbon energy sector vital for national energy security."