Oxfordshire's Tokamak Energy's US wing wins place on Department of Energy fusion project

By Stephen Emerson

2 June 2023

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Tokamak Energy's Oxfordshire base

The American subsidiary of Tokamak Energy has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a project aimed at advancing fusion technology.

The DOE’s multimillion-dollar Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program was established to support private companies in bringing fusion energy toward technical and commercial viability.

As part of the program, selected companies will team with U.S. national laboratories, universities, and others to address major technical and commercialisation milestones for the successful design of a fusion pilot plant.

Tokamak Energy, based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, is the first private fusion company to reach a plasma ion temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius in its ST40 tokamak, the threshold for commercial fusion.

Warrick Matthews, Tokamak Energy’s Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to be selected by the U.S. DOE for its Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program. It’s a fantastic endorsement of the strength of our team, technology and path to commercial fusion energy, combining the spherical tokamak with high temperature superconducting magnets.

“We look forward to working with the DOE on the next steps towards delivering clean, secure, affordable fusion power to the world, addressing the twin challenges of energy security and climate change.”

Tokamak Energy is the only private company with more than 10 years’ experience of designing, building and operating tokamaks. It already has strong links with U.S. national laboratories, including Oak Ridge, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Los Alamos, as well as the University of Illinois.

In addition, this week Tokamak Energy and General Atomics (GA) announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in the area of high temperature superconducting technology for fusion energy and other applications, such as aviation, naval, space and medical.

Tokamak Energy has previously received seven awards through the U.S. Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program. The INFUSE programme was established in 2019 to accelerate fusion energy development through public-private research partnerships.

By Stephen Emerson

Stephen Emerson is the Managing Editor of The Business Magazine and is responsible for the publication's print publications and online properties including the newly launched Biz News websites in Hampshire and Dorset.

Stephen has been a journalist for 20 years and has worked at local, regional and national publications and led a team which made The Scotsman website one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK with over eight million monthly users.

He has a keen interest in technology, property and corporate finance and telling the stories of the people behind the successful firms in these sectors.