U.K. seeks site for world’s first fusion power station
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/uk-seeks-site-world-s-first-fusion-power-station
A U.K. spherical tokamak aims to generate 50 megawatts of fusion power when it starts up in 2040.
The U.K. government today invited communities around the country to volunteer a site for a prototype fusion reactor, which would be the first—it is hoped—to put electricity into the grid. The project, called Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), began last year with an initial £222 million over 5 years to develop a design. The U.K. Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), the government agency overseeing the effort, says construction could begin as soon as 2032, with operations by 2040.