The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) provides a complete snapshot of the UK’s first-of-a-kind fusion powerplant prototype through 15 peer-reviewed papers in a publication produced by the Royal Society.

The UK’s first prototype fusion energy power plant, the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), is currently under development by the UKAEA at a site in north Nottinghamshire, where characterisation works surveying ground and environment are well under way. The aim is for the plant to be operational by 2040.

STEP was first announced in 2019 when the UK government revealed it was committing £220m to its design. The reason for this substantial investment is that fusion is a potential source of almost limitless clean energy, which is vital amid rising energy prices and the climate crisis. However, it poses daunting engineering challenges in that fusion proves difficult to harness.

Researchers around the globe, including those at the STEP programme, are developing fusion reactors that...