08:06 AM EDT, 03/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- AECOM ( ACM ) said Tuesday it will provide design and technical services as part of the ILIOS consortium, which has been appointed construction partner for the first stage of UK's Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production, or STEP, program.

The first three-year 200 million British pounds ($266.5 million) tranche of the program will support the development of a prototype fusion power plant in the Midlands, the company said.

STEP, backed by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, aims to deliver a commercially viable fusion plant by 2040 at West Burton in Nottinghamshire, AECOM ( ACM ) said.