JET Decommissioning and Repurposing

Decommissioning and repurposing the Joint European Torus (JET).

Overview

Repurposing and decommissioning the Joint European Torus (JET) will provide invaluable insight into making future fusion energy machines more sustainable and cost-effective.

JET Decommissioning and Repurposing: Progress so far.

JET’s history began more than 50 years ago, with an extensive design and planning process paving the way for four decades of groundbreaking and world-changing research.

Repurposing and decommissioning (JDR) represents the next stage of JET’s influence on the global fusion energy sector. The projects which will be undertaken in the years to come will provide a foundation for whole life cycle planning and engineering of fusion machines, power plants and research facilities. 

JDR brings together engineering, technology, science and project management to deliver the programme in an ethical, innovative manner, demonstrating maximum value for money. 

In April 2026 JDR moved into a new four-year period of delivery, focusing on: 

  • clearing buildings across the JET estate to release land for Culham Campus development projects, and freeing funds for future fusion investment 
  • removing around 3,000 tiles and components from the tokamak through JET’s upgraded MASCOT remote handling system 
  • advancing planning for future tranches, such as how to address challenges posed by JET’s Intermediate Level Waste 

To find out more, contact us.

A robotics operator working in front of a bank of screens.
Remote handling operators removing tiles and components using MASCOT.
An expert operator working in a laboratory wearing protective clothing.
JET’s samples were prepared for further analysis in UKAEA’s Beryllium Handling Facility.
An aerial shot of a building site with cranes and trucks in action.
The JDR team has already begun clearing the JET estate.
Decommissioning and repurposing experts in a workshop.
Project planning includes workshopping with senior JDR and other operational staff.

Progress

Sample retrieval

Retrieving 66 samples from the tokamak for further analysis.

Sample retrieval campaign – Part 1: Remote handling.

Characterisation

Analysis of JET samples to inform future waste planning.

Sample retrieval campaign – Part 2: Sample analysis.

Building clearance

Clearing JET’s most complex support building for repurposing by the LIBRTI programme.

New era for key JET building – transforming Culham Campus.

Repurposing

Repurposing essential assets for EUROfusion, repurposing opportunities, knowledge capture.

Giving JET new life in fusion research and development.

Post-operational clean-out

Reducing hazards to increase efficiencies and cost-savings within the JET decommissioning programme.

Decommissioning JET: Reducing hazards, cost and time

Post-operational clean-out is an important foundation for JET’s decommissioning. By acting now to remove hazards of all kinds from the JET estate, UKAEA is making the long-term programme both safer and cost-efficient.

JET’s cable challenge

Forty years of world-leading fusion energy research has left JET with hundreds of kilometres of cables. All of these need to be removed before JET can be decommissioned. But where do you start?

Lights out at JET

Upgrading technology, saving costs and carbon footprint, and a practical approach to decommissioning which takes into account Culham Campus’s neighbours.

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