McBains will provide a range of services to Tokamak Energy for the construction of a new fusion energy advanced prototype facility at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority’s (UKAEA’s) Culham Campus.
Tokamak Energy’s compact spherical tokamak, ST80-HTS, will demonstrate multiple technologies required for the delivery of clean, sustainable fusion energy. This includes a complete set of cutting-edge high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets to confine and control the hydrogen fuel, which becomes plasma many times hotter than the sun.
As an already trusted partner to UKAEA, this is McBains’ first fusion power project with Tokamak Energy, which has appointed McBains to deliver site design services through RIBA Stages 1-3 for the new fusion energy facility at the Culham campus in Oxfordshire.
McBains will provide an inter-disciplinary service for Tokamak Energy, comprising architecture, building services engineering, civil and structural engineering, cost management and principal designer services.
The new purpose-built facility will feature a main hall for the Tokamak advanced prototype, alongside assembly halls and various supporting functions such as cryogenics, power systems and laboratories, as well as control rooms, offices, and conference facilities. Build completion is expected in 2026.
Anna Kealey, Project Director at McBains, said:
“McBains is incredibly excited to be involved with this pioneering project and Tokamak Energy’s pursuit of a sustainable and secure commercial energy source.
“Having worked with UKAEA on several projects at their Culham campus, we’re confident that the partnership between Tokamak Energy and UKAEA will be hugely successful and look forward to it bringing the reality of fusion power a step closer.”
In the Press
You might be interested in...

McBains ESG Team Shortlisted for ESG Team of the Year Award
The McBains ESG team has been shortlisted for ‘ESG Team of the Year’ as part of the Unlock Net Zero Awards, which seek to celebrate individual and organisational contributions to a carbon free future for the UK housing sector.

McBains secures place on LHC’s Retrofit and Decarbonisation Framework
We’re delighted to announce that McBains has been appointed to LHC's Retrofit and Decarbonisation (N9) Framework to deliver retrofit solutions for the public sector.

INSIDE HOUSING: Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3 – Learning Lessons from Past Retrofits
Following our recent roundtable, Associate Director in our ESG team, Alex Jahanshahi-Edlin, shared his insights with Inside Housing on how lessons from past retrofit programmes can help shape the next phase of social housing decarbonisation.

McBains hosts industry roundtable on decarbonisation and retrofit
On Thursday February 27, 2025, McBains hosted an insightful roundtable discussion on ‘The Pathway to Decarbonising and Retrofitting Social Housing’, chaired by Marie Kemplay, Deputy Editor of Financial Times Sustainable Views.

McBains secures place on South East Consortium’s Asset and Development Consultancy Framework
The South East Consortium (SEC) has awarded leading property and construction consultancy McBains a place on Lot 3 (Zero Carbon Consultancy) of its Asset and Development Consultancy Framework.

McBains launches 2025 NextGen programme and welcomes new cohort
We’re delighted to welcome a fresh cohort to our NextGen programme for 2025, as we continue our commitment to innovation and leadership development.