UK Bets Billions on Fusion Prototypes

The UK government has announced a five‑year, £2.5 billion programme to build a spherical‑tokamak prototype (STEP) at a former coal plant, fund tritium manufacturing, train 2,000 fusion experts, and buy an AI supercomputer to speed plasma modelling. The plan targets a functioning 'wall‑socket' reactor in the early 2040s and projects a domestic fusion sector employing ~10,000 people by 2030. — This is a concrete example of a modern industrial‑policy play that links state capital, workforce development, and AI simulation to energy transition strategy, with implications for jobs, supply‑chain politics, and how the public funds high‑risk, long‑horizon technology.