The first commercial fusion plant installed its first component last month ahead of plans to start generating energy by 2027.
The SPARC tokamak, which is under construction in Massachusetts, US, aims to be the first to demonstrate net energy generation from fusion. It is hoped that despite its relatively small size, the plant could achieve up to 140MW of fusion power in 10-second bursts.
The donut-shaped fusion prototype will use powerful electromagnets to produce the right conditions for fusion energy, including an interior temperature surpassing 100 million degrees Celsius.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the firm overseeing the project, installed SPARC’s first element in March – a disc-shaped stainless-steel construction called the cryostat base. The base was rolled onto tracks and lowered with a crane, before being fixed in place with bolts and grout.
“With the cryostat base now in place, we’ve begun building the heart of our fusion energy system,” said Samer Hamade, vice-president...