ACORN The Challenge Exchange 2026!
Turning Industry Challenges into Collaborative Opportunities
ACORN and the Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH) Cumbria are bringing together industry leaders, technology developers, manufacturers, robotics specialists, researchers and innovators for a unique challenge-led collaboration event at Culham. The Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH) is a business network that brings together organisations from across engineering, manufacturing, technology, digital, robotics, low-carbon energy and the wider supply chain to drive innovation through collaboration.
This event has been specifically designed to connect organisations within the nuclear industry facing complex operational and technical challenges with businesses and academics that can help solve them.
Over two days, delegates will:
- Hear first-hand about genuine industry challenges requiring innovative solutions.
- Participate in interactive collaboration and marketplace sessions designed to generate new partnerships.
- Explore future opportunities across the nuclear, fusion, robotics and advanced manufacturing sectors.
- Access guidance on funding and support available through ACORN to help turn collaboration into action.
- Visit Culham’s world-leading fusion and robotics facilities and gain insight into emerging technologies and future challenges. Please note open-toe shoes (sandals, flip flops etc) are NOT permitted in our research areas.
Whether you are an academic institute or an organisation with a challenge to solve, a technology looking for an application, or a business seeking new collaboration opportunities, The Challenge Exchange 2026 is designed to help you find the right partners and start the conversations that lead to real projects.
Bring a challenge. Bring a solution. Leave with new partners.
Registration
You must register by completing the registration form. We encourage you to be logged into Indico (the web-based event management system hosting this site) to register.
To register, select the ‘Registration’ tab in the menu on the left-hand side of the page.
Visas / Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
Please check the UK Government website to see if you need a visa / ETA to attend this conference / training. We recommend you apply for a visa at least 16 weeks ahead of the event.
If you require a conference invitation letter to support your application, please email the support team with your full name, organisation, and nationality as stated in your passport, along with your request.