Tokamak Energy has released initial designs for its pilot fusion energy plant, which it hopes can be built within the next decade.

The early look into the plant was presented at the industry-leading Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Plasma Physics in Atlanta, Georgia, last week.

If fully realised, the design will be capable of generating 800MW of fusion power and 85MW of net electricity – roughly enough to power and heat more than 70,000 American homes.

The plant will include a complete set of new-generation high-temperature superconducting magnets to confine and control the deuterium and tritium hydrogen fuel in a plasma many times hotter than the centre of the sun. Initial designs are for the tokamak to have an aspect ratio of 2.0, plasma major radius of 4.25 metres and a magnetic field of 4.25 Tesla, as well as a liquid lithium tritium breeding blanket.

“The first design details of our high-field spherical tokamak created great excitement at the prestigious...