---
title: "Fuel Cycle Technical Specification Development"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-077408"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077408"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077408.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077408.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd"
published: "2026-09-17"
---

# Fuel Cycle Technical Specification Development

Buyer: UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-077408

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## Summary

UK Fusion Energy Ltd commissioned technical consultancy to develop baseline specifications for selected fuel-cycle equipment for the STEP fusion energy programme. The work is intended to create clear design and qualification benchmarks for equipment suppliers, supporting pre-qualification and wider UK industrial participation in the development of a prototype fusion power plant. The scope relates particularly to fuel-cycle systems and tritium handling, including design, manufacture and commissioning considerations, technical analysis, systems consultancy and research consultancy. The service is delivered in the United Kingdom. The buying organisation is UK Fusion Energy Ltd, the company responsible for advancing the STEP programme and its supply-chain strategy. This is a specialist engineering and research assignment rather than the supply of equipment or construction works.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded on 17 September 2026 to Fusion Fuel Cycles, an SME based in Canada. The award value is £130,000 excluding VAT and £156,000 including VAT. The contract period runs from 5 October 2026 to 5 April 2027, with signature due by 2 October 2026. It was a below-threshold procurement using a method recorded as unknown. There was one completed lot, covering fuel-cycle technical specification development. The selected supplier is responsible for the awarded services in the United Kingdom. The award is recorded as active, and the contract is intended to establish technical specifications that can be used to pre-qualify future equipment suppliers for the STEP programme.

This requirement indicates demand for suppliers able to turn specialist fusion and fuel-cycle knowledge into practical, defensible technical specifications. Relevant capability includes tritium handling system design, equipment design and qualification, engineering analysis, systems engineering, technical consultancy and research. Credible competitors would need to understand the challenges of defining design benchmarks where nationally or internationally adopted tritium standards are limited, and be able to translate that expertise into requirements usable for supplier pre-qualification. Experience across the full equipment lifecycle—from design through manufacture and commissioning—would be relevant, as would the ability to support a public-sector fusion programme and its objective of expanding UK industrial participation. Firms with adjacent nuclear, fusion, fuel-cycle or specialist process-engineering expertise could consider how to demonstrate transferable technical authority and supply-chain understanding.

## Notice

The STEP programme aims to deliver a UK prototype fusion energy power plant in the 2040s and establish a credible pathway to the commercial deployment of fusion energy. United Kingdom Fusion Energy Ltd (UKFE Ltd) seeks to maximise the national and regional economic and industrial benefit of the STEP programme, in line with the strategy published in March 2026, which is featured below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-fusion-energy-ltd-ukfe-strategy Expertise in fusion and particularly tritium handling system design, manufacture, and commissioning is concentrated within national laboratories, research facilities, and a limited specialist supply chain. There is not yet a unified set of nationally or internationally adopted codes and standards that define prescriptive tritium design and qualification requirements in a form readily accessible to new or adjacent suppliers. This absence of clear, standardised, and accessible design benchmarks represents a barrier to wider supply-chain engagement and hinders opportunities to expand UK industrial participation in fusion delivery. This contract aims to develop baseline technical specifications for select fuel cycle equipment that would enable pre-qualification of equipment suppliers for STEP.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088043-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - unknown |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 17 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 17 Sep 2026 |
| Contract period | 5 Oct 2026 - 5 Apr 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £130,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd |
| Locality | ABINGDON |
| Postcode area | Oxford |
| Postcode | OX14 3DB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC |
| Local authority | South Oxfordshire |
| Electoral ward | Sandford & the Wittenhams |
| Westminster constituency | Didcot and Wantage |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Fusion Fuel Cycles |

## CPV Codes

### 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

### Codes

- 71312000 - Structural engineering consultancy services
- 71621000 - Technical analysis or consultancy services
- 72220000 - Systems and technical consultancy services
- 73210000 - Research consultancy services

## Release History

- 17 Sep 2026 at 09:47 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088043-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088043-2026
  17th September 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-fusion-energy-ltd-ukfe-strategy
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077408. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077408.json.