The UK government has promised a record £410m (€474m, $500m) investment in nuclear fusion which could help construct a world-leading fusion power project on the site of an old coal plant in Nottinghamshire, England.

The government hopes the funding, which will be made available for the coming financial year, will support the rapid development of the UK fusion energy sector and deliver “a future powered by limitless clean energy”.

The funding will include the development of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production, or Step, prototype power plant at the now decommissioned West Burton coal-fired power plant in Nottinghamshire by 2040, and repurposing Jet, the UK’s pioneering fusion machine at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire.