Rotherham nuclear testing facility for Advanced Manufacturing Park

UKAEA said the facility would create 40 new jobs

A nuclear research facility is to be built in Rotherham.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) wants to test innovative technologies for making fusion reactor components at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) at Catcliffe.

The £22m facility would open in 2020 providing 40 new highly skilled jobs, UKAEA said.

Boeing, Rolls-Royce, McLaren Automotive, BAE Systems, and Airbus are already based at the AMP.

The University of Sheffield also has a research centre at the Waverley site, along with other smaller companies.

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UKAEA said the 25,000 sq ft (2,323 sq m) centre would "develop and test innovative technologies for creating fusion reactor components".

"Fusion, a safer and more efficient form of nuclear energy, could be one of the most promising options for generating low-carbon electricity in the future," a spokesperson said.

"This new facility will form a key part in helping UK engineers find answers to the challenges of making commercial fusion energy available on the grid."

There is a similar facility at Culham in Oxfordshire

There is a similar facility at Culham in Oxfordshire.

Colin Walters, of UKAEA, said it represented a "practical step towards developing power plants".

He said: "This facility will provide fantastic opportunities for UK businesses to win contracts and put UKAEA in a great position to help deliver the necessary expertise for the first nuclear fusion power stations."

The AMP, between Rotherham and Sheffield, is on the site where police clashed violently with striking miners from Orgreave coking plant during the 1984-5 Miners' Strike.

Colin Walters of UKAEA attended a ground-breaking ceremony with Rotherham MP Sarah Champion, Ian Chapman of UKAEA, and Andrew Storer of the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre