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Fusion could be one step closer after a new joint venture between Tokamak Energy and the UK’s Atomic Energy Authority.
The five-year deal will see the development of a new kind of fusion reactor device.
A Tokamak is a type of plasma reaction device which uses magnetism to contain the energy. This means it can reach the very high temperatures needed to replicate the heat in the sun when fusion happens.
Both organisations have operational spherical tokamak devices, with Tokamak Energy’s ST40 and UKAEA’s MAST Upgrade.
UKAEA’s MAST Upgrade experiment has helped in the development of its ambitious STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) programme, which aims to build a sample fusion powerplant.
Professor Ian Chapman, UKAEA CEO, said: “Fusion has great potential to deliver almost limitless clean energy for future generations.
“Fusion presents an exciting opportunity for the UK and we’re proud our ground-breaking work here continues to drive innovation and progress as part of a thriving cluster.”
