Commercialising
fusion energy and our
groundbreaking HTS
technology
Commercialising
fusion energy and our
groundbreaking HTS
technology
About us
We are pursuing the global deployment of commercial fusion in the 2030s; a clean, secure, affordable and readily available energy source for all.
Tokamak Energy was founded in 2009 as a spin-off from UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). Our US subsidiary, Tokamak Energy Inc, was established in 2019. We are the only private fusion company with over a decade’s experience developing the two technologies that offer the most efficient and commercially attractive route to fusion energy; the compact spherical tokamak and high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets.
We’re proud to have been awarded a grant as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone Based Fusion Development Program, which provides support for private companies to partner with U.S. national laboratories and universities, with the overall aim of pilot-scale demonstration of fusion energy in the 2030s.
Our dedicated HTS magnet business unit, in collaboration with key manufacturing partners, is focussed on becoming the leading supplier of HTS technology for fusion and other exciting new applications, including science, renewable energy and propulsion in water, air and space.
We are home to over 250 employees with world-class scientific, engineering and commercial expertise. We have 75 families of patent applications and have raised $250 million; $200m from private investors and $50m from the UK and US governments.
Our roadmap to commercial fusion
We’re on a mission to have commercial fusion power plants deployed in the 2030s.
We have completed design work on our next advanced prototype fusion device, which has the potential to de-risk and accelerate the development of multiple technologies required for the delivery of sustainable fusion energy. This device, scheduled for build completion in the late 2020s, will also demonstrate multiple advanced technologies required for fusion energy and inform the design of a fusion pilot plant.
Our fusion pilot plant will demonstrate the capability of delivering electricity into the grid in the 2030s, paving the way for globally deployable 500-megawatt commercial plants.
Our track record
Our pathway to commercial fusion is built on proven science and an unrivalled track record.
In 2022, we reached a peer-reviewed plasma ion temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius in our ST40 spherical tokamak, the threshold for commercial fusion. We also achieved the highest triple product by a private company; a widely recognised industry test of plasma density, temperature and confinement that is a key measure of progress on the path to commercial fusion.
We’re widely recognised as a world-leader in the development of HTS magnet technology, producing robust HTS magnets with built-in quench protection. We recently produced a world-first set of HTS coils to be assembled and tested in power plant-relevant scenarios in our Demo4 system.
We are a world leader in our two core technologies; the compact spherical tokamak and high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets.
Our track record of achievement, which features a number of world-firsts, supports our approach as the optimal route to clean, affordable and globally deployable fusion energy.
2023
World-first set of new generation HTS magnets to be assembled and tested in fusion power plant-relevant scenarios.
2022
Highest plasma ‘triple product’ of any private fusion company, a key measure of plasma temperature, density and confinement time.
2022
First private fusion company to achieve 100 million degrees Celsius plasma ion temperature in a tokamak, the threshold for commercial fusion.
2021
Robust, scaleable, quench-protected HTS magnet technology developed, precisely validating our simulations.
2020
World-record 24 Tesla field at 20 K with patented HTS magnet technology.
2017
World’s highest magnetic field spherical tokamak (ST40) designed, built and in operation.
2015
First HTS tokamak sustained pulse for >24 hours (ST25 HTS).
Our values
Our values are important to us. They were defined through consulting with our employees to understanding what is most important to our people and business in delivering our mission. They guide how we work, the decisions we make and how we interact with each other, our stakeholders and the wider community.
Safety:
We’re putting it first
Agility:
We’re fast on our feet
Collaboration:
We’re team players
Creativity:
We’re curious and courageous
Respect:
We’re open with each other
Our partnerships
Collaboration is vital to achieving our mission and we have built a strong network of government, commercial, scientific and academic partners. This significantly strengthens our capability to commercialise fusion energy.
General Atomics
We have a memorandum of understanding with US-headquartered General Atomics (GA) to collaborate in HTS technology for fusion energy and other industry applications, leveraging GA’s world-leading capabilities for manufacturing large-scale magnet systems and Tokamak Energy’s pioneering expertise in HTS magnet technologies.
Sumitomo Corporation
We have an agreement with Sumitomo Corporation to enable close collaboration on the development, implementation and scaling-up of commercial fusion energy in Japan and worldwide. Sumitomo Corporation will contribute expertise and investment to a series of joint projects with Tokamak Energy focussed on the scaling-up and industrialisation of the global fusion supply chain.
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
We won a US Department of Energy INFUSE grant with LANL to produce advanced metal-hydride neutron shielding materials using a novel and scalable powder metallurgy process. The samples that have been produced are being used to uncover new insights into the properties of these materials with other collaborators.
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)
With the NSTX(-U) spherical tokamak based at PPPL, we share a focus on spherical tokamak plasmas. Through a co-operative research and development agreement, PPPL physicists have contributed to ST40 operations. We have also collaborated with PPPL through the INFUSE program on scrape-off layer physics and micro-instability analyses.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
We have collaborated with ORNL physicists on ST40 plasma operations. We are also, through INFUSE, collaborating to develop fusion technology: tritium-compatible pellet injectors, non-inductive plasma current ramp-up and sustainment, RAFM steels with gas transmutations, and lithium compatible structural materials and coatings.
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
We are working with the scientists at SNL to conduct in-situ tests of HTS tapes in near-operation conditions under photon radiation, at the SNL Gamma Irradiation Facility. This allows us to test HTS magnet durability and performance when exposed to gamma radiation as we scale up our operations towards commercial fusion.
The University of Tokyo
With common interests in the physics of spherical tokamak plasmas and magnetic reconnection, we have a long history of working with The University of Tokyo on subjects including merging-compression, ion heating associated with reconnection, advanced diagnostics, and high-fidelity modelling of RF heating and current drive for our future devices.