The UK’s first of a kind Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) fusion energy team wowed the crowds at the Lincolnshire Show last week with a pair of robo-dogs. The STEP Programme is located at West Burton, a previous coal-fired power station with plans to build a fusion energy power plant at the site which uses robotics to help movement inside the plant. The dog duo proved a hit at the Showground and generated many conversations around fusion energy, the boost the programme will bring to local businesses, thousands of extra jobs that STEP will bring to the area and opportunities around new skills for future generations of workers.
Thousands of people gathered at the show which centres on agriculture, trade and local produce, a true celebration of rural life in Lincolnshire. This year the show returned for its 140th year with around 60,000 visitors and a constant flow of people around the STEP robot dogs who were providing entertainment to people of all ages, and they also caught the attention of a few (real) dogs too who were not quite sure what to make of the lively little robots.
STEP was hosted by West Lindsey District Council at the annual show, who are proud to be neighbours of this upcoming national significant infrastructure project beginning with construction that will take the commercialisation of fusion energy a step closer to getting clean and green power on to the Grid. The local MP for Gainsborough, Sir Edward Leigh was on hand to speak to people visiting the Show. He commented:
This is the most exciting thing that has happened to Gainsborough in a hundred years. We’re going to be at the cutting edge of technology, just as Gainsborough was in the middle of the 19th century when it became an industrial town. It’s really exciting. Fusion is unlimited green energy, it’s completely safe, it will transform humankind. Gainsborough is really coming up in the world, and this will just be the icing on the cake.
You can join in with some of the fusion fun and help the STEP team who are running a competition to name the two newest members of their team – the robot dogs! You can submit your name suggestions: https://stepfusion.com/name-our-robot-dogs/
