Award

Magnets Partner Agreement

UK FUSION ENERGY LTD

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

26 Mar 2026 at 16:12

Award

25 Mar 2026 at 16:09

Award

25 Mar 2026 at 15:39

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process involves UK Fusion Energy Ltd awarding a contract to Tokamak Energy Ltd for the "Magnets Partner Agreement," which covers engineering, design, technical testing, prototyping, and research and development services. This contract, designated as a direct award due to Tokamak Energy Ltd's unique capabilities and intellectual property rights, was initiated under the Procurement Act 2023 and involves strategically sensitive technologies. The contract will commence on 15th April 2026 and extend until 14th April 2029, with a potential extension until 31st March 2031. Located in the UK, within the Abingdon region, the procurement falls under engineering services, with a gross value of £84,000,000.

With a focus on advancing fusion energy technologies, this contract presents significant opportunities for specialised engineering and research firms. Businesses with expertise in high field and spherical tokamak physics, as well as those offering advanced engineering design and testing services, could find potential for collaboration and growth within the evolving fusion energy sector. Given Tokamak Energy Ltd's role, firms that complement their capabilities or provide innovative solutions in related sectors may benefit from engaging with this contract. The procurement reflects a prioritisation of technical expertise and strategic innovation, making it suitable for organisations focused on cutting-edge technological development.

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Notice Title

Magnets Partner Agreement

Notice Description

The Contract shall engage Tokamak Energy Ltd in three capacities: (a) UK Magnet Champion; (b) ST40 Device Owner and Operator; and (c) Supporting Fusion Capability and Capacity, as set out below, together constituting a combined capability able to deliver all required elements. (A)UK Magnet Champion TE will be appointed to act as prime contractor, managing delivery on behalf of UKIFS of deliverables including the following, to be taken forward on a best for programme basis: *Sub-scale S coil demonstration; *Conceptual design of selected poloidal field ("PF") coil and delivery roadmap; *Development of full-scale TF cable manufacturing capability; *HTS tape quality control methodology and implementation proposal. Further deliverables may include: *Toroidal field ("TF") model coil fully manufactured and integrated; *use of TE's test facilities for demonstrator coil testing; *provision of independent design review services, to be agreed between parties. *Development of the Magnets (and associated) industrial sectors and supply chains. (B)ST40 Device Owner and Operator The Contract will provide for access, targeted modification, utilisation and simulation regarding ST40 in order to advance the understanding of edge plasma, tokamak exhaust and microwave plasma physics for STEP. (C)Supporting Fusion Capability and Capacity The Contract will also include a mechanism for UKIFS to engage TE to provide supporting capability and services relating to high field, spherical tokamak physics, technology and engineering development. This shall include, but is not limited to: sensors, electron cyclotron heating and current drive, tokamak design integration and testing.

Procurement Information

This direct award is justified under section 41(1) and Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023: *Single supplier - intellectual property or exclusive rights *Single supplier - technical reasons *Additional or repeat goods, services or works Additionally, and in the alternative, the exemption for national security at Schedule 2 paragraph 25 of the Procurement Act 2023 is applicable. UKIFS intends to directly award this contract under Section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023, relying on Schedule 5 (Direct award justifications) paragraphs 5 and 6 "Single suppliers" grounds because: 1.Due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only Tokamak Energy Ltd can supply the Professional Services and only Tokamak Energy Ltd holds the necessary intellectual property rights. Tokamak Energy Ltd holds unique technical knowledge, proprietary intellectual property, and system-level understanding of the existing architecture, supported by specialist methodologies, tooling, facilities, and integration approaches. 2.Only Tokamak Energy Ltd can supply the Professional Services required as it is the only supplier with the capability, technical expertise, and manufacturing maturity necessary to deliver the requirement to the required standard. 3.There are no reasonable alternatives. Market engagement was undertaken to assess the availability of alternatives and confirmed that no reasonable alternatives exist to the Professional Services .No other organisation possesses the combination of fusion-specific expertise, design authority, specialist facilities, and relevant intellectual property required to meet the requirements. The works must interface directly with existing Tokamak Energy Ltd designed equipment and comply with strict interoperability and safety requirements. Introducing an alternative supplier would require extensive reverse engineering, redesign, and requalification, creating disproportionate cost, material programme delay, and increased technical and delivery risk. Furthermore, no other firm globally has an available and operational Tokamak Reactor (and as such cannot fulfil the requirements of the contract). In addition to the above justification, as the contract relates to an extension of existing goods, services or works provided by Tokamak Energy Ltd under an existing contract the direct award justification in Schedule 5 paragraph 7 also applies. This is because: 1.A change in supplier from Tokamak Energy Ltd would result in UKIFS receiving goods, services or works that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, services or works. A change in supplier would result in interoperability and safety issues with existing systems as the works must interface directly with existing Tokamak Energy Ltd designed equipment. 2.A change in supplier would result in disproportionate technical difficulties with operation because it would require extensive reverse engineering, redesign, and requalification, creating disproportionate cost, material programme delay, and increased technical and delivery risk. In addition (and in the alternative) to the above direct award justifications, the contract should not, in the interests of national security, be subject to open competition (Procurement Act 2023 Schedule 2 paragraph 25). This is because the requirement involves technologies and associated data of a strategically sensitive nature. Conducting an open competition would create an unacceptable risk of exposing security-critical information and could require engagement with suppliers unable to meet essential sovereign capability, assurance, or compliance requirements.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-067416
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028125-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services


CPV Codes

71300000 - Engineering services

71320000 - Engineering design services

71632000 - Technical testing services

72244000 - Prototyping services

73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

73100000 - Research and experimental development services

73110000 - Research services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£70,000,000 £10M-£100M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
26 Mar 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
25 Mar 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
14 Apr 2026 - 14 Apr 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
UK FUSION ENERGY LTD
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
ABINGDON
Postcode
OX14 3DB
Post Town
Oxford
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
South Oxfordshire
Electoral Ward
Sandford & the Wittenhams
Westminster Constituency
Didcot and Wantage

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

TOKAMAK ENERGY

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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