Representatives from businesses and academic organisations from across the Midlands gathered in Parliament to show their support for Nottinghamshire County Council’s campaign, alongside EDF UK, Midlands Engine, D2N2 LEP and Bassetlaw District Council, to host the UK’s first commercially operating fusion power plant.   West Burton A, an existing coal-fired power station, is one of the five government-selected sites in the running to host the new blueprint for the zero-carbon generation for the whole of the UK, known as the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP).   Achieving STEP would transform and regenerate the region, creating thousands of jobs and supply chain opportunities for construction and manufacturing sectors, in an area already intimately linked with fossil fuels.   The Midlands Fossil 2 Fusion event was addressed by Cllr Ben Bradley, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council MP, Co-Chair of the Midland’s Engine APPG Lord Ravensdale, EDF Commercial Director Rachael Glaving and Brendan Clarke-Smith, MP for Bassetlaw.   North Nottinghamshire has a rich heritage in energy generation and has been at the forefront of powering the nation with the region often referred to as megawatt valley.   Fusion has the potential to provide a near-limitless source of low carbon energy by copying the processes that power the sun and stars where atoms are fused to release energy, creating nearly four million times more energy for every kilogram of fuel than burning coal, oil or gas.   West Burton A is recognised as being the ideal location for a number of reasons: • The site can offer over 300 hectares of land, a brownfield site large enough to accommodate the fusion plant and related enterprises, with a single landowner (EDF UK). • The site has an existing grid connection and water abstraction licence, as well as a direct rail link, transforming a fossil fuel site into a fusion hub. • It is closely located to highly respected academic centres and UKAEA’s own Fusion Technology Facility. • Crucially, it is close to key manufacturers and suppliers for the current and future nuclear new build projects. • Most importantly there is strong support for the development of the site locally, across political parties with business backing in the region.   Cllr Ben Bradley, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, MP said: “This site in Nottinghamshire has huge reasons to be selected by Government for the STEP programme and the opportunities for thousands of jobs, skills and renewable energy research are just a few. Undoubtedly, the STEP project would make the difference to the region most in need of levelling up. The area is known as megawatt valley, and rightly so.”   Rachael Glaving, Commercial Director, Generation at EDF UK, said: “EDF is the UK’s largest producer of zero carbon electricity, we operate all of the country’s nuclear power stations, so we were delighted to see the West Burton A site on the shortlist for the UKAEA’s very exciting fusion project. It really is a perfect fit for a site.”   Lord Ravensdale, Co-Chair of the Midlands Engine APPG, said: “West Burton is uniquely placed to deliver this with extensive energy capabilities and associated supply chains already in place and this will bring generational transformation to the region.”   Brendan Clarke-Smith, MP for Bassetlaw, said: “Most importantly, there is genuine cross party and community support for the development of the site locally with business backing in the region. The regeneration this would generate for the area and beyond will be huge, and has the added benefit of helping to once again power the nation.”   Cllr Simon Greaves, Leader of Bassetlaw District Council, added: “West Burton is the ideal location for the STEP project. There is local and regional support for the site, a proud history of energy generation, access to skills and a strong supply chain in place. It offers the opportunity to provide jobs and energy for generations to come.”

The end of the opening quarter saw a marked growth slowdown in the UK manufacturing sector. Output and new orders both expanded at reduced rates in March, while new export business contracted for the second successive month. Manufacturers indicated that ongoing supply shortages, greater caution among clients, escalating inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions had all hampered the upturn. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global / CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index® (PMI®) slipped to a 13-month low of 55.2 in March, down from a three-month high of 58.0 in February. The flash estimate was 55.5. All five of the PMI sub-components had a negative influence on its level in March. Along with weaker growth of output and new orders, there were slower upturns in both stocks of purchases and employment and a lessening in the extent to which average supplier lead times were lengthening. Manufacturing production expanded for the twenty-second month in a row. However, the rate of increase eased to a five-month low, as growth decelerated across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods industries. The extent of the slowdown was especially marked at consumer goods producers. New orders rose at the slowest pace during the current 14-month sequence of increase in March. There were reports that growth of domestic demand was less robust, while new export orders contracted for the sixth time in the past seven months. Lower intakes of work from overseas were linked to rising geopolitical tensions, ongoing difficulties following Brexit and sales lost due to distribution delays. Manufacturers also faced escalating cost inflationary pressures in March. Input prices rose for the twenty-eighth consecutive month, with the rate of increase hitting a three-month high. Rates of increase accelerated across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods industries, and remained well above long-run averages. Companies reported a wide-range of goods as up in price, as rising demand for inputs met supply chain constraints, material shortages, higher energy costs and rising geopolitical tensions. There was also mention of transportation issues, surcharges and exchange rates contributing to higher costs. Shortages and rising prices at suppliers also contributed to increased costs. Vendor lead times lengthened for the thirty third consecutive month and again to one of the greatest extents in the survey history. That said, there were further signs that supply bottlenecks had passed their peak, as delivery delays were at their lowest for almost one and a half years (October 2020). Manufacturers passed part of the increase in costs on to clients in the form of higher charges. Average selling prices rose at the quickest pace in three months, with steeper increases registered at consumer, intermediate and investment goods producers. March saw employment expand for the fifteenth consecutive month. Increased hirings were seen across the consumer, intermediate and investment goods industries and at small, medium and large-sized companies. Higher staffing reflected increased output, improved demand and efforts to address labour shortages. Purchasing activity and stocks of inputs also rose, in some cases due to risk mitigation strategies. Finally, manufacturers maintained a positive outlook in March, with over 55% forecasting that output would rise over the coming 12 months. However, positive sentiment fell sharply to a 14-month low. Companies voiced concerns about rising geopolitical tensions, inflationary pressures and labour shortages. Commenting on the latest survey results, Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global, said: “March saw a marked growth slowdown in the UK manufacturing sector, with rates of expansion for production and new orders both easing and new export business suffering back-to-back declines. The slowdown in consumer goods output was especially marked. “Manufacturers are being hit by several headwinds simultaneously, as supply shortages, greater caution among clients, escalating inflationary pressures, ongoing Brexit factors and rising geopolitical tensions all hamper the upturn. It is therefore little surprise that business optimism has slumped to a 14-month low. “The inflationary picture also provides no signs of inflation pressures abating, with the already elevated rates of increase in input costs and selling prices both re-accelerating. Job creation is holding up better though, with a further solid increase seen in March, as companies continue to respond to continued growth and address ongoing labour shortages. However, such strong hiring looks unsustainable in the face of the mounting headwinds.” Duncan Brock, group director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said: “A muted end to the first quarter of 2022, with flatter levels of production and the softest growth in manufacturing for over a year. “While new order expansion continued in March largely driven by the domestic market, clients hesitated to commit due to strong rises in prices and potentially further disruption to supplies. Pipelines of work from overseas also took a hit and fell for the sixth time in just over half a year as Brexit customs added to the impacts on UK supply chains. “This triple whammy particularly impacted the consumer goods sector as reluctant shoppers worried about energy costs, national insurance rises and the elevated cost of food, ruled out shopping for household appliances, clothing and vehicles. “The sudden weakness creeping into the sector, meant downcast manufacturers showed the lowest optimism for the strength of the marketplace since January 2021. After building up stocks and staff capacity in readiness for a stronger recovery, the war in Ukraine and subsequent shortages threatens to undo the good work achieved so far.”