U.K.-based Tokamak Energy is designing a pilot fusion energy plant under the U.S. Department of Energy Bold Decadal Vision program. The latter was launched to use public-private partnerships to accelerate fusion energy research and development and demonstrate an operating fusion pilot plant, led by the private sector, in the 2030s.

The high-field spherical tokamak power system is being designed to generate 800 MW of fusion power and 85 MW of net electricity. The plant will include a complete set of new generation high temperature superconducting magnets to confine and control the deuterium and tritium hydrogen fuel in a plasma many times hotter than the center of the sun. Initial designs are for the tokamak to have an aspect ratio of 2.0, plasma major radius of 4.25 meters and a magnetic field of 4.25 Tesla, as well as a liquid lithium tritium breeding blanket.

Artist’s impression of a future fusion reactor. Source: Tokamak Energy

Tokamak Energy is the first private fusion company to reach a plasma temperature of 100 million° C — the threshold for commercial fusion — in a spherical tokamak, the ST40.