A €10 million (£8.53m) nuclear fusion test centre will be hosted in the UK.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has announced a collaboration with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project to host the facility at its Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) centre for the next five years.

The UK Government is investing €5 million (£4.27m) to fund the testing of critical remote handling operations necessary for the maintenance of components for the ITER fusion energy project, based in France.

ITER will match this funding.

The centre will be used to test and evaluate remote handling systems and provide operational feedback into the final component designs.

UKAEA Head of Business Development, Martin Townsend, said: “UKAEA remains committed to the realisation of ITER, helping to support industry to secure business from the ITER programme and partnering with all stakeholders to deliver the new technologies and processes necessary for success.

“Hosting the ITER remote handling test facility provides an excellent opportunity to link UKAEA’s know-how with ITER organisation technical experts, supported by industry.”

The government intends to leave a Europe-wide nuclear co-operation body as part of Brexit.