Some are studying a future where power plants are powered by energy from the Sun, but packaged in a smaller, safer device. Someone else is working on it. Finally, someone else says they have almost achieved it. It could be a reality as early as 2030 according to Tokamak Energy, a British company that recently presented the first images of its proposed commercial nuclear fusion power plant.
The sun in a box
The nuclear fusion power plant Tokamak Energy it could generate enough energy to power 50.000 homes safely and sustainably. The first pilot plant based on his reactor ST-E1 tokamak it will be ready by the early 30s: and it could pave the way for 500-megawatt commercial power plants around the world.
Small recap on how this technology works. The process of nuclear fusion occurs when two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, fuse at temperatures higher than those present in the Sun's core, creating helium and releasing energy. This energy can be used to produce electricity and heat. The generated plasma is confined by very powerful magnets inside a ring device called a tokamak.
The advantages of a nuclear fusion power plant? Huge.
Nuclear fusion is extremely efficient because it produces much, much more energy per pound of fuel than fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. Above all, unlike fission plants, a nuclear fusion power plant does not produce radioactive waste and requires less space for the installation of power plants.
A nuclear fusion power plant, in essence, produces clean energy. It can be built near large population centers and industrial areas, providing clean and safe energy without harmful emissions. It can be connected to traditional turbines to produce electricity and heat.
The fields of application? Practically everyone: from metalworking to water desalination, through to the production of hydrogen.
All in one sphere
The British company has spent years developing a compact spherical tokamak. And in 2021 it reached a plasma temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius with his ST40. The secret? A unique spherical design that highlights its efficiency and scalability.
Next steps: The ST40's successor, the ST80-HTS, will be commissioned at the UK Atomic Energy Authority's Culham Campus in 2026. Followed by the commissioning of the ST-E2030 and the first fusion power plant from 1 commercial nuclear power.
In the following decades, perhaps, we will ask ourselves how we ever lived without them.
