Interview: UKAEA Technical Lead Engineer Fiona Harden talks fusion

As concerns over climate change and the state of the environment become ever more pressing, the need for cleaner, more sustainable energy is greater than ever, and according to nuclear engineer Fiona Harden, UK developments in the holy grail of energy - nuclear fusion - could have a major role to play. 

Advances in renewable energy have, for the last decade or so, been undeniably positive. The National Grid recently reported that in the 12 months upto April 2024, 40.6 per cent of the UK energy mix was from renewables.

Renewables (encompassing wind, biomass, solar and hydro) is also the most cost-efficient form of zero-carbon electrical energy to date, and is currently predicted to be the lowest cost of any kind of energy generation in most markets by 2030. 

The issue, though, is that renewable wind and solar energy generation, for instance, are non-dispatchable – and so only generate electricity when the weather allows, rather than when the country, or grid, needs it.