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74-556: Formerly known as UKAEA Culham , the laboratory was renamed in October 2009 as part of organisational changes at its parent body, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). Since 2016, the director has been Professor Ian Chapman , and the centre has been engaged in work towards the final detailed design of ITER as well as preparatory work in support of DEMO . In 2014 it was announced

148-929: A $ 27 million funding round. SDTC awarded General Fusion a further C$ 12.75 million in March 2016 to for the project "Demonstration of fusion energy technology" in a consortium with McGill University (Shock Wave Physics Group) and Hatch Ltd . In October 2018 Canadian Minister for Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains , announced that the Canadian government's Strategic Innovation Fund would invest C$ 49.3 million in General Fusion. In December 2019, General Fusion raised $ 65 million in Series E equity financing from Singapore 's Temasek Holdings , Bezos and Chrisalix, concurrently with another $ 38 million from Canada's Strategic Innovation Fund . The firm said

222-412: A Marshall gun to inject a deuterium plasma into a target chamber. The target chamber’s outer wall is a solid lithium liner contained within a cylindrical composite vacuum vessel. Toroidal coils mounted on the outside of the cylindrical vessel are pulsed and push on the liner to initiate compression. As the liner collapses, the plasma is compressed to higher density and temperature.   In January 2024,

296-400: A Vancouver-based venture capital firm, led a C$ 1.2 million seed round of financing in 2007. Other Canadian venture capital firms that participated in the seed round were GrowthWorks Capital and BDC Venture Capital . In 2009, a consortium led by General Fusion was awarded C$ 13.9 million by SDTC to conduct a four-year research project on "Acoustically Driven Magnetized Target Fusion"; SDTC

370-679: A co-ordinated European programme, which is managed by the EUROfusion consortium of research institutes. This is focussed on delivering the European fusion road map, with the goal of achieving fusion electricity by 2050. CCFE is involved in a number of other international collaborations, notably the ITER tokamak being built at Cadarache in France. As well as contributing to scientific preparations for ITER with plasma physics experiments at Culham, CCFE

444-629: A commercial enterprise and become self-financing. The authority was then split again by the Atomic Energy Authority Act 1995 , with the more commercial parts transferred into a public company AEA Technology , which was then floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1996. The nuclear facilities used for the UK's research and development programme, which held large decommissioning liabilities, were retained. The role of

518-599: A commercial reactor. In August 2023, the company completed the first close of its Series F raise for a combined $ 25 million USD of funding. The round was anchored by existing investors, BDC Capital and GIC. It also included new grant funding from the Government of British Columbia.   In December 2023, the company announced the Canadian government invested an additional CA$ 5 million through Canada’s Strategic Invesment Fund to advance its LM26 fusion demonstration machine at its Richmond headquarters. Beginning in 2015,

592-418: A fusion reaction in its first MTF prototype. In 2010, it produced its first at-scale plasma injector with magnetically confined plasma. In 2011 it first demonstrated compressive heating of magnetized plasma. A proof-of-concept compression system was constructed in 2013 with 14 full size pistons arranged around a 1-meter diameter spherical compression chamber to demonstrate pneumatic compression and collapse of

666-463: A future fusion reactor. In the late 1960s, Culham scientists had already assisted in tokamak development by using laser scattering measurement techniques to verify the highly promising results achieved by the Russian T3 device. This led to the adoption of the tokamak by the majority of fusion research establishments internationally. In 1977, following protracted negotiations, Culham was chosen as

740-507: A larger device, MAST (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak), which operated between 2000 and 2013. CCFE has a broad ranging programme of activities encompassing tokamak plasma physics, technology developments for the DEMO prototype fusion power plant, the development of materials suitable for a fusion environment, engineering activities, the training of students, graduates and apprentices, and public and industry outreach activities. It also participates in

814-412: A liquid metal vortex. The pneumatic pistons were used to create a converging spherical wave to compress the liquid metal. The 100 kg, 30 cm diameter hammer pistons were driven down a 1 m long bore by compressed air. The hammer piston struck an anvil at the end of the bore, generating a large amplitude acoustic pulse that was transmitted to the liquid metal in the compression chamber. To create

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888-602: A multi-national team as a separate entity on the Culham site under the JET Joint Undertaking agreement. However, since 2000, UKAEA has been responsible for the operation of JET on behalf of its European research partners, through a contract with the European Commission . In the 1980s, Culham Laboratory was instrumental in the development of the spherical tokamak concept – a more compact version of

962-561: A plasma by a liquid metal wall, despite this being a key technology required for their powerplant. Nor have they demonstrated a liquid metal shaft, or a means of re-establishing high vacuum conditions in the short time interval (<1 s) between pulses. In General Fusion’s most recent conceptual design, the MTF power plant proposed by General Fusion would produce about 300 MWe from two 150 MW machines running in tandem. As of 2021, General Fusion had received $ 430 million in funding. General Fusion

1036-516: A prototype powerplant capable of demonstrating fusion as a viable technology for electricity generation. It uses the compact 'spherical tokamak' concept developed by UKAEA at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. STEP is currently in a five-year conceptual design phase and is expected to be constructed and operational by 2040. In December 2017, UKAEA announced plans for two further fusion research centres: Hydrogen-3 Advanced Technology (H3AT) and Fusion Technology Facilities. H3AT, located at Culham, will study

1110-778: A spherical wave, the timing of these strikes had to be controlled to within 10 μs. The firm recorded sequences of consecutive shots with impact velocities of 50 m/s and timing synchronized within 2 μs. However it was found that the wall of the liquid metal vortex turned to a spray soon after the arrival of the pressure wave. From its inception until 2016, the firm built more than a dozen plasma injectors. These include large two-stage injectors with formation and magnetic acceleration sections (dubbed "PI" experiments), and three generations of smaller, single-stage formation-only injectors (MRT, PROSPECTOR and SPECTOR). The firm published research demonstrating SPECTOR lifespans of up to 2 milliseconds and temperatures in excess of 400 eV. As of 2016,

1184-544: Is Greg Twinney. The company's website states Greg joined General Fusion in 2020 with a well-established track record of executive leadership. Serving as General Fusion’s chief financial officer for two years, he expanded the company’s investor base and helped to launch the Fusion Demonstration Program. In 2022, he took the top spot as General Fusion’s chief executive officer. Greg’s experience prior to joining General Fusion demonstrates his ability to set

1258-667: Is MAST Upgrade – a more powerful, better-equipped successor to the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak . Construction of MAST Upgrade started in 2013, and commissioning started in 2019. MAST Upgrade will be implemented in three stages. Funding was agreed with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for the core upgrade (Stage 1a), which began plasma operations in 2020. Two additional phases (Stage 1b and Stage 2) will follow in later years subject to funding. MAST Upgrade has three main missions: CCFE

1332-474: Is a Canadian company based in Richmond , British Columbia , which is developing a fusion power technology based on magnetized target fusion (MTF). The company was founded in 2002 by Dr. Michel Laberge. The company has more than 150 employees. The technology under development injects the magnetized target, a plasma mass in the form of a compact toroid , into a cylinder of spinning liquid metal. The target

1406-466: Is a foundation established by the Canadian government. The other member of the consortium is Los Alamos National Laboratory . A 2011 Series B round raised $ 19.5 million from a syndicate including Bezos Expeditions, Braemar Energy Ventures, Business Development Bank of Canada, Cenovus Energy, Chrysalix Venture Capital, Entrepreneurs Fund, and Pender Ventures. In May 2015 the government of Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional Berhad , led

1480-405: Is a member of the co-ordinated R&D programme led by the EUROfusion consortium. UKAEA's Materials Research Facility carries out micro-characterisation of radioactive materials for researchers in both fusion energy and nuclear fission. It is open to users from academic and commercial organisations, aiming to bridge the gap between university laboratories and those at nuclear licensed sites. It

1554-741: Is also an investment committee member for Future Fund: Breakthrough, a UK government-backed direct co-investment fund for late-stage deep tech companies. Klaas started his career with McKinsey & Company in Amsterdam. From there, he joined Vanenburg Group where he established and managed a corporate venturing team that led investments in Europe, Israel and the US, which included WebEx. Klaas has an MSc in Applied Physics from Delft University of Technology, and an MBA from Insead. General Fusion's approach

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1628-407: Is also home to Upper Thames Valley Sunday league football club JET F.C. UKAEA officially opened Culham Laboratory in 1965, having moved its fusion research operations from the nearby Harwell research site . Culham also amalgamated fusion activities at Aldermaston and other UK locations to form a national centre for fusion research. John Adams , who would go on to become Director-General of CERN ,

1702-585: Is based on the Linus concept developed by the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) beginning in 1972. Researchers at NRL suggested an approach that retains many of the advantages of liner compression to achieve small-scale, high-energy-density fusion. According to Laberge, Linus could not properly time the compression using the technology of the era. Faster computers provide the required timing. However, this claim

1776-822: Is chaired by Klaas De Boer, who currently chairs AIM-listed Xeros Technology Group and serves on the Boards of SmartKem and veriNOS pharmaceuticals. His bio on the company's website says Klaas has over 20 years of venture capital experience spanning Europe, North America and the Middle East. From 2006 until 2021, he was the Managing Partner of Entrepreneurs Fund, where his managing portfolio included companies such as inge GmbH (sold to BASF), Technolas Perfect Vision (sold to Bausch & Lomb), Prosonix Ltd (sold to Circassia), Lifeline Scientific Inc (sold to Genext), New Motion (sold to Shell) and Optinose (Nasdaq listing). Klaas

1850-498: Is designed to achieve fusion conditions of over 100 million degrees Celsius (10 keV) by 2025 and progress towards scientific breakeven equivalent by 2026. This was an adjustment to its previously announced Fusion Demonstration Program. In June 2021, the company announced it would build 70% of a full-scale fusion demonstration plant in the UK as part of a public-private partnership with the UK Government . General Fusion's CEO

1924-482: Is developing technology for the project – such as remote handling applications, specialist heating systems and instrumentation for plasma measurements (‘diagnostics’). In June 2021 it was announced that a new fusion demonstration plant was to be built at the CCFE, by a consortium including General Fusion with backing from Jeff Bezos . It is planned to be operational by 2025. The focus of the UK domestic fusion programme

1998-655: Is funded under a bilateral contract between the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and the European Commission. According to a BBC news report of 29 November 2016: "Since the vote for Brexit , many at the centre have become 'extremely nervous' amid uncertainty about future financing and freedom of movement. Five researchers have already returned to continental Europe with others said to be considering their positions". However, some of those concerns were allayed in 2019 by

2072-501: Is mechanically compressed to fusion-relevant densities and pressures, by anywhere from a dozen to hundreds (in various designs) of steam-driven pistons. In 2018, the firm published papers on a spherical tokamak and a recent conceptual design was presented at the 30th IEEE Symposium of Fusion Engineering (SOFE). In August 2023, the company announced an updated plan to build a new fusion demonstration machine – Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) – at its Canadian headquarters. The company says LM26

2146-404: Is not borne out by the literature as various Linus devices with no timing constraints, including systems using single pistons, were built during the experimental runs during the 1970s and demonstrated fully reversible compression strokes. General Fusion's magnetized target fusion system uses a ~3 meter sphere filled with liquid metal. The liquid is spun, creating a vertical cavity in the centre of

2220-764: Is part of the National Nuclear Users' Facility and has received funding from the Henry Royce Institute . On the 14th of October 2022 the Materials Research Facility opened its extension. A partnership between United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and the Science & Technology Facilities Council , Oxfordshire Advanced Skills is an apprentice training centre located at Culham Science Centre. It offers training for technicians in engineering and hi-tech disciplines, with

2294-498: Is responsible for the operation and safety of the JET facilities on behalf of EUROfusion. Its engineers also ensure that the JET device is maintained and upgraded to meet the demands of the research programme. Upgrades are largely carried out using a sophisticated remote handling system which avoids the need for manual entry. For example, in 2009 to 2011, remote handling engineers stripped out

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2368-760: The 2023 Fusion Industry Association report, the company has 150 employees and has raised approximately USD $ 300,000,000+. In 2023, the firm reduced headcount significantly and announced that it was building a new machine, “LM26”, with the goal of achieving breakeven by 2026. The Fusion Demonstration Plant being built in the UK will be delayed. Magnetized target fusion has a number of challenges . General Fusion's founder and Chief Science Officer noted several specific difficulties that are not present in DC tokamaks . These include, but are not limited to: Laberge stated that these challenges were still to be solved. Indeed, General Fusion are yet to demonstrate mechanical compression of

2442-551: The NDA for the decommissioning work at Dounreay , Harwell , Windscale, Winfrith and the JET facilities at Culham. On 1 April 2008, the Authority announced a major re-structuring to meet its decommissioning obligations with the NDA. A new wholly owned subsidiary, UKAEA Limited , was formed with established expertise from the existing company, to focus on nuclear decommissioning and environmental restoration management and consultancy in

2516-637: The UK's nuclear deterrent , including the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston , directly to the Ministry of Defence . In 1982 the authority was involved in the creation of Nirex , to develop and operate radioactive waste disposal facilities in the United Kingdom. The Atomic Energy Authority Act 1986 put the authority into trading fund mode, requiring it to act and account as though it were

2590-468: The United Kingdom and international markets. At the same time, Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) was formed out of the existing Authority team at Dounreay and was licensed by the Health and Safety Executive to operate the site and carry out its decommissioning under the Authority's management. DSRL became a subsidiary of United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Limited. In parallel with these changes,

2664-580: The authority became to decommission these nuclear assets and to restore the environment around the sites. From the early 1990s the authority completed more decommissioning work than anyone in Europe, and had considerable success in regenerating former nuclear sites for commercial use. Following the Energy Act 2004 , on 1 April 2005 the UK's specialist nuclear police force, the UK Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary ,

2738-449: The authority was responsible for the United Kingdom's entire nuclear programme, both civil and defence, as well as the policing of nuclear sites. It made pioneering developments in nuclear (fission) power, overseeing the development of nuclear technology and performing much scientific research. However, since the early 1970s its areas of work have been gradually reduced, with functions transferred to other government organisations as well as to

2812-663: The authority, including its subsidiary companies DSRL and RSRL. In 2009 the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) was launched as the new name for the home of United Kingdom fusion research. In 2014 UKAEA announced the creation of a new branch of research, using expertise gained from the remote handling system created for JET to form a new centre for robotics known as RACE (Remote Applications in Challenging Environments) . The Authority has continued to expand its facilities at Culham in recent years, with

2886-468: The centre would house the new RACE (Remote Applications in Challenging Environments) . The centre occupies the site of the former Royal Navy airfield RNAS Culham (HMS Hornbill ) , which was transferred to UKAEA in 1960. The UKAEA continues to operate the site and is the major tenant. As well as CCFE, the centre houses the headquarters of the UKAEA, and hosts many commercial and other organisations. It

2960-483: The company announced that it had completed 200,000+ plasma shots, filed 150 patents/patents pending, and that headcount had passed 200. PI3 reached 10 ms confinement times and temperatures of 250 eV, almost 3 million degrees Celsius, without active magnetic stabilization, auxiliary heating, or a conventional divertor. Its primary compression testbed, a 1:10 scale system using water rather than liquid metal, has completed over 1,000 shots, behaving as predicted. According to

3034-482: The company reported it had achieved symmetrical compression of a solid lithium ring within a few weeks of announcing LM26 and had built and began operating a compression test bed for LM26 called Prototype 0. The Fusion Demonstration Program is a 70% scale prototype which was being built in Oxfordshire, UK with a reported cost of US$ 400 million. It had been announced that the core technology had been proven out and

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3108-416: The firm conducted three crowdsourcing challenges through Waltham , Massachusetts-based firm Innocentive . The first challenge was Method for Sealing Anvil Under Repetitive Impacts Against Molten Metal. General Fusion successfully sourced a solution for "robust seal technology" capable of withstanding extreme temperatures and repetitive hammering, so as to isolate the rams from the liquid metal that fills

3182-467: The firm demonstrated compression of a water cavity into a controlled, symmetrical shape. Also in 2021 the company agreed to build a demonstration plant in Oxfordshire , at Culham , the center of the UK's nuclear R&D. The plant is planned to be 70% of the size of a commercial power plant. The company claimed it had validated all the individual components for the demonstration reactor. In 2022,

3256-572: The firm had developed the power plant's subsystems, including plasma injectors and compression driver technology. Patents were awarded in 2006 for a fusion energy reactor design, and enabling technologies such as plasma accelerators (2015), methods for creating liquid metal vortexes (2016) and lithium evaporators (2016). In 2016 the GF design used compact toroid plasmas formed by a coaxial Marshal gun (a type of plasma railgun ), with magnetic fields supported by internal plasma currents and eddy currents in

3330-429: The flux conserver wall. In 2016, the firm reported plasma lifetimes up to 2 milliseconds and electron temperatures in excess of 400 eV (4,800,000 °C). Around 2017 the company performed a series of experiments referred to as PCS (Plasma Compression Small). These implosion experiments used a chemical driver to compress an aluminum liner onto a compact toroid plasma. Because the implosions involved chemical explosives,

3404-472: The funds would permit it to begin the design, construction, and operation of its Fusion Demonstration Plant. In January 2021, the company announced funding by Shopify founder Tobias Lütke 's Thistledown Capital. In November 2021, the company completed an over-subscribed $ 130M Series E round. Investors included Bezos, Business Development Bank of Canada, hedge fund Segra Capital Management and family-office investors. Funds were to be dedicated to constructing

3478-465: The groundwork to create massive shareholder value for technology-enabled companies. He worked in varied C-level roles in complex industries, moving companies through all stages of maturity and scale, across all functions of the businesses. Michel Laberge is the founder and Chief Science Officer of General Fusion. Michel is a physicist with overall practical experience in plasma physics and modern plasma diagnostic techniques. He has extensive knowledge of

3552-548: The intention of providing employers with highly skilled recruits ready to enter the workplace. Training is provided by the Manufacturing Technology Centre . RACE is a test facility for robotics and autonomous systems. It grew out of UKAEA's remote handling operations at the JET nuclear fusion device, which date back to the 1990s. The UK Government funded the construction of the RACE centre at Culham with

3626-413: The intention of taking the knowledge gained at JET into other industries with 'challenging environments' where it is difficult for humans to perform work. RACE currently works with organisations in nuclear fusion and fission, with large physics facilities and with autonomous vehicle developers. The £220 million STEP programme aims to accelerate the delivery of fusion power to the energy market. STEP will be

3700-481: The interior of JET to fit a new 4,500-tile inner wall to enable researchers to test materials for the forthcoming ITER tokamak. In addition, CCFE participates in the JET scientific programme alongside the other 28 EUROfusion research organisations throughout Europe. Funding for CCFE's domestic fusion programme is provided by a grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The operation of JET

3774-567: The latest technologies related to electronics, computers, materials, lithography, optics and fabrication and is experienced in designing and constructing test apparatuses to evaluate technical concepts. Prior to establishing General Fusion, Michel spent nine years at Creo Products in Vancouver as a senior physicist and principal engineer. His roles included inventor, designer, and scientific project leader on projects that resulted in more than $ 1 billion worth of product sales. The board of directors

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3848-545: The need for plutonium , highly enriched uranium , and materials for hydrogen bombs . Between 1952 and 1958 UKAEA carried out 21 nuclear weapon tests in Australia and the Pacific. Following the Atomic Energy Authority Act 1971 , the authority was split into three, with only research activities remaining with the authority. The Radiochemical Centre Ltd took over production of medical and industrial radioisotopes and

3922-552: The news that JET would continue to be funded after Brexit. United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy . It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). The authority focuses on United Kingdom and European fusion energy research programmes at Culham in Oxfordshire , including

3996-592: The opening of a Materials Research Facility in 2016 and creation of the Oxfordshire Advanced Skills apprentice training centre. United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority states its mission as "To lead the delivery of sustainable fusion energy and maximise the scientific and economic benefit." Its research programmes include a number of laboratories and other facilities at the Culham site. The UK's national laboratory for fusion research, CCFE undertakes plasma theory and modelling studies to establish

4070-601: The physics basis for future fusion powerplants. It also studies the materials and engineering technology of tokamak fusion reactors. The centrepiece of CCFE's programme is the MAST Upgrade spherical tokamak experiment - the successor to the MAST device - which is expected to begin operation in 2019. CCFE also operates and maintains the Joint European Torus (JET) for its research partners around Europe, and

4144-686: The pistons. In addition to its role in compressing the plasma, the liquid metal liner shields the power plant structure from neutrons released by the deuterium-tritium fusion reaction, overcoming the problem of structural damage to plasma-facing materials . The lithium in the mixture breeds tritium. In August 2023, General Fusion announced it intends to build a new fusion demonstration machine called Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) to achieve important technical milestones using Magnetized Target Fusion . LM26 aims to achieve fusion conditions of over 100 million degrees Celsius by 2025 and progress towards scientific breakeven equivalent by 2026.   LM26 will use

4218-404: The plasma to the range where the fuel atoms fuse, releasing energy in the form of fast neutrons and alpha particles . This energy heats the liquid metal, which is then pumped through a heat exchanger to generate electricity via a steam turbine. The plasma forming and compressing process repeats and the liquid metal is continuously pumped through the system. Some of the steam is recycled to power

4292-487: The private sector. UKAEA has also been involved in undertaking safety and reliability assessments for outside bodies, due to its long running experience in such work within the nuclear field. The authority was established on 19 July 1954 when the Atomic Energy Authority Act 1954 received royal assent and gave the authority the power "to produce, use and dispose of atomic energy and carry out research into any matters therewith". The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

4366-550: The processing and storage of tritium, one of the two fuels expected to supply commercial fusion reactors. The Fusion Technology Facilities, based at both Culham and at a new UKAEA Yorkshire site in Rotherham , South Yorkshire , carries out thermal, mechanical, hydraulic and electromagnetic tests on prototype components to replicate the conditions experienced inside fusion reactors. Authority site locations: Historical site locations: General Fusion General Fusion

4440-542: The site at Windscale in Cumbria was transferred to Sellafield Ltd , a site licence company under contract to the NDA, following close review and scrutiny by the Health and Safety Executive and environmental and security regulators. The majority of authority employees at the site transferred to Sellafield Ltd. On 2 February 2009, the authority announced the next stage in restructuring. Research Sites Restoration Limited (RSRL),

4514-459: The site for the Joint European Torus (JET) tokamak. Construction began in 1978 and was completed on time and on budget, with first plasma in June 1983. Since then the machine has gone on to set a series of fusion milestones, including the first demonstration of controlled deuterium-tritium fusion power (1991) and the record fusion power output of 16 megawatts (1997). Initially the JET facility was run by

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4588-402: The sphere. This vortex flow is established and maintained by an external pumping system; liquid flows into the sphere through tangentially directed ports at the equator and exits radially through ports near the poles of the sphere. A plasma injector is attached to the top of the sphere, from which a pulse of magnetically confined deuterium - tritium plasma fuel is injected into the center of

4662-676: The tests took place outdoors in remote locations. The tests were destructive and could only be executed every few months. These tests were carried out to advance the understanding of plasma compression with the goal of advancing toward a nuclear-reactor scale demonstration. As of December 2017 , the PI3 plasma injector held the title as the world's most powerful plasma injector, ten times more powerful than its predecessor. It also achieved stable compression of plasma. In 2019 it successfully confined plasma within its liquid metal cavity. From 2019 to 2021 it increased plasma performance. As of 2021,

4736-414: The tokamak in which plasma is held in a tighter magnetic field in a ‘cored apple’ shape instead of the conventional toroidal configuration. This is thought to offer potential advantages by enabling smaller, more efficient fusion devices. The START (Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak) experiment at Culham (1991-1998) was the first full-sized spherical tokamak. Its impressive performance led to the construction of

4810-419: The vortex. A few milligrams of gas are used per pulse. The gas is ionized by a bank of capacitors to form a spherical tokamak plasma (self-confined magnetized plasma rings) composed of the deuterium–tritium fuel. The outside of the sphere is covered with steam pistons, which push the liquid metal and collapse the vortex, thereby compressing the plasma. The compression increases the density and temperature of

4884-542: The world's most powerful operating fusion device, the Joint European Torus (JET). The research aims to develop fusion power as a commercially viable, environmentally responsible energy source for the future. A record 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy was demonstrated by scientists and engineers working on JET in December 2021. In JET’s final deuterium-tritium experiments ( DTE3 ), high fusion power

4958-407: Was appointed the first Director of the laboratory. Culham built almost 30 different experiments in its first two decades as a variety of fusion concepts were tried out; among them shock-waves, magnetic mirror machines , stellarators and levitrons. During the 1970s, research became focused on magnetic confinement fusion using the tokamak device, which had emerged as the most promising design for

5032-578: Was consistently produced for 5 seconds, resulting in a ground-breaking record of 69 megajoules using a mere 0.2 milligrams of fuel. JET has now ceased operating and decommissioning has commenced. United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority owns the Culham Science Centre and has a stake in the Harwell Campus , and is involved in the development of both sites as locations for science and innovation-based business. On its formation in 1954,

5106-610: Was formed from the Ministry of Supply, Department of Atomic Energy and inherited its facilities and most of its personnel on its formation. The first chairman was Sir Edwin Plowden , with board members running the three major divisions: The authority inherited nearly 20,000 employees, which doubled to 41,000 by 1961. Most of the authority's early activities were related to the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons programme , and

5180-463: Was formed from the existing teams at Harwell in Oxfordshire and Winfrith in Dorset and licensed by the Health and Safety Executive to operate those sites. RSRL continued the decommissioning programmes for Harwell and Winfrith on behalf of the NDA. RSRL also became a subsidiary of UKAEA Limited. In October 2009, Babcock International Group plc acquired UKAEA Limited , the nuclear clean-up subsidiary of

5254-466: Was later privatised in 1982 as Amersham plc . British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) took over nuclear fuel and weapons material producing activities: the manufacturing plant at Springfields , the enrichment plant at Capenhurst , the spent-fuel facility at Windscale , and the dual-purpose Calder Hall and Chapelcross military plutonium producing reactors. The Atomic Energy Authority (Weapons Group) Act 1973 transferred responsibility for management of

5328-643: Was not among the eight companies to receive funding as part of the United States Department of Energy Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program. Investors included Chrysalix venture capital , the Business Development Bank of Canada —a Canadian federal Crown corporation , Bezos Expeditions , Cenovus Energy , Pender Ventures, Khazanah Nasional —a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund , and Sustainable Development Technology Canada (STDC). Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital,

5402-527: Was ready to be put together and that the plant was to commence operations in 2027. However the plant was put on hold in 2023 when the company announced that it would instead build a different machine in Canada aimed at demonstrating breakeven by 2026. The plant had several key differences from the commercial power plant concept: The firm was founded in 2002 by former Creo Products senior physicist and principal engineer Michel Laberge . In 2005 it produced

5476-663: Was reconstituted as the Civil Nuclear Constabulary . Responsibility for the force was also removed from the authority and transferred to the Civil Nuclear Police Authority . The 2004 Act also established the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which on 1 April 2005 took ownership and responsibility for the liabilities relating to the cleanup of UK nuclear sites. The authority became a contractor for

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