TAE and UKAEA Launch Joint Venture to Commercialize Advanced Fusion Beams

TAE Technologies has entered a reciprocal investment partnership with the UK Atomic Energy Authority to launch TAE Beam UK, a new joint venture designed to industrialize one of the most critical subsystems in fusion energy: neutral-beam particle accelerators. The move positions the UK as a manufacturing and R&D hub for advanced fusion components while strengthening US-UK cooperation across the fusion supply chain.

The venture will be based at UKAEA’s Culham Campus in Oxfordshire—home to the recently retired but record-setting Joint European Torus (JET)—and will tap decades of operational experience with high-energy neutral beams. UKAEA plans to invest £5.6 million and deploy top scientific talent to stand up the venture, while TAE brings more than two decades of IP, accelerator R&D, and ongoing commercial demand from its next-generation fusion machines. TAE has committed “nine-figure” internal investment to support near-term development and usage.

The partners aim to design, build, and commercialize neutral-beam systems for a range of fusion concepts, with first short-pulse beams expected within 18–24 months pending regulatory approvals. Beyond fusion, the accelerators will be adapted for high-value non-fusion markets, including advanced cancer therapies, food sterilization, and homeland-security applications—leveraging technology already used by TAE’s medtech subsidiary, TAE Life Sciences.

Neutral beams are one of the most complex and capital-intensive components in fusion systems, used for plasma heating, current drive, and stability. TAE is the first company to employ neutral beams for both plasma formation and sustainment in its field-reversed-configuration (FRC) approach, simplifying machine design and lowering cost. As fusion companies move from laboratory prototypes toward pilot plants, creating a reliable commercial supply chain for these components has become strategically important.

The partnership supports the UK’s ambition to anchor global fusion manufacturing and complements TAE’s growing UK footprint, which also includes TAE Power Solutions in the West Midlands. Policymakers in London and Washington hailed the deal as evidence that the Technology Prosperity Agreement between the two countries is expanding practical industrial cooperation—especially as AI-driven electricity demand accelerates interest in long-duration, carbon-free baseload solutions like fusion.

The fusion sector is entering an inflection point: private investment globally has surpassed $6 billion, governments are expanding regulatory frameworks, and several companies, TAE among them, aim to demonstrate net-energy systems by the early 2030s. Supply-chain readiness is increasingly viewed as a gating factor for commercialization. UKAEA’s deep experience with JET’s neutral-beam systems provides a foundation for reducing technical risk and accelerating deployment timelines.