Tokamak Energy

Tokamak Energy is a fusion power company based near Oxford in the United Kingdom,[2] established in 2009.[3] The company is pursuing the global deployment of commercial fusion energy in the 2030s through the combined development of spherical tokamaks with high-temperature superconductor (HTS) magnets. It is also developing the magnet technology for other uses.

History

Tokamak Energy is a research spin-off from the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy based in Oxfordshire.[4] As of 2022, the company had raised $250m, comprising $50m from the UK and US governments and $200m from private investors, including LRG Capital Group, Dr. Hans-Peter Wild, and David Harding, CEO of Winton Capital.[3]

One of the company's first devices was the copper magnet-based ST-25; in 2015 this was upgraded with rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) high temperature superconductors (HTS) to the ST-25HTS.[5]

From 2018 to 2023, the company's then newest developed and operating device, the ST40 high-field compact spherical tokamak, advanced from a plasma ion temperature of 15 million degrees Celsius in 2018,[6][7][8] and then in March 2022 reached a landmark plasma ion temperature above 100 million degrees Celsius,[9] considered the threshold for commercial fusion. A peer-reviewed scientific paper on the achievement has been published by the Institute of Physics.[10]

Tokamak Energy is a leader in HTS magnet development. In 2020, the company announced it had reached a world record 24 Tesla field at 20K with its patented technology. In 2023, it announced it had built a world-first set of new generation HTS magnets to be assembled and tested in fusion power plant-relevant scenarios in its new Demo4 in-house facility.[11] It is also developing HTS technology for uses beyond fusion energy.

In October 2022, the UKAEA and Tokamak Energy announced a five-year framework agreement to collaborate on developing spherical tokamaks for power generation. The collaboration focuses on areas including materials development and testing, power generation, fuel cycle, diagnostics, and remote handling,[12] in the UKAEA's STEP machine.

In May 2023, the United States Department of Energy granted the company's US subsidiary, Tokamak Energy Inc., additional funding[13] through its Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, which partners selected companies with U.S. national laboratories, universities, and other institutions to advance designs and R&D for fusion power plants, representing a major step in the U.S.'s commitment to a pilot-scale demonstration of fusion within a decade.

On 27 July 2023, Tokamak Energy announced a partnership with Sumitomo Corporation for the development, implementation, and scaling up of commercial fusion energy in Japan and worldwide.[14]

In November 2024, the company secured $125mn in a funding round led by East X Ventures and Lingotto Investment Management, which saw investment from British Patient Capital, Furukawa Electric Company, global maritime company BW Group and US-based Sabanci Climate Ventures.[15]

In December 2024, the UK and US launch a £40.5 million joint fusion project with Tokamak Energy.[16]

See also

• Commonwealth Fusion Systems
• DEMOnstration Power Station
• Fusion Industry Association
• List of nuclear fusion companies
• Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production

External links