The US National Ignition Facility recently announced that it had achieved a milestone in the development of fusion technology, producing more energy from a fusion process than that put into the reactor directly by the lasers that control the process. While the NIF is not designed to research power generation—it has its roots in the 1960s nuclear test ban treaty, and aims to allow maintenance and design of nuclear weapons without explosive tests—this is still a breakthrough.

For this episode, we go back to March 2021 to look at another important step in the decades long development of fusion power.

In the episode, we looked at a project being run by the UK Atomic Energy Authority which aims to build a prototype fusion power plant by the 2040s. To do that they have been working on a concept design, choosing from a menu of international technologies. Their work needs to be complete by spring 2024 to then work on and complete a detailed design by about 2030.

Called ‘STEP’, its success will be measured in one way, whether it can sustainably put electricity into the grid.

This is a challenge that will push the limits of robotics, plasma science, materials science, nuclear science. But if we get it right, if all of the technologies fall into place, we have the potential to generate carbon neutral energy for millions of years. 

Guests

Jenny Cane, Product Area Lead for In-Vessel Components at STEP, UK Atomic Energy Authority

Nick Walkden, Head of Executive Office, UK Atomic Energy Authority

Resources

The UK Atomic Energy Authority’s webpage on STEP can be found here. The website for the project in the south of France ITER can be found here.