UK to launch ‘nuclear fusion Apollo mission’ in 2024

The plasma ball of around 100 million degrees Celsius will have a radius of 3.6 meters, the designs show, and will be controlled by magnets.

The plant is also expected to produce its own fuel in another world first. A layer of lithium around the reaction will be deliberately bombarded by neutrons spewed out by the helium production process to produce the tritium fuel which, unlike deuterium, is rare in nature.

Engineers are hopeful that Step will generate 1.6 GW of power, roughly half that of Hinkley Point C, which equates to a net output of up to 200 MWe.

The rudimentary blueprints are likely to change significantly in the coming years as the concept is refined.

Construction at West Burton is expected to begin in the spring of 2024 and future optimizations and advances in materials are expected to optimize efficiencies and increase production, experts say.

‘It’s an incredibly exciting opportunity’

“Step is the Apollo of fusion,” Methven told The Telegraph.

“We are currently designing the rocket and building the equipment, both in the public and private sectors, that will put our equivalent of people on the moon.

“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for the UK to be at the forefront of this new frontier.”

Solving the puzzle of nuclear fusion is akin to tackling an amorphous blob, Professor Sir Ian Chapman, chief executive of the UKAEA, told The Telegraph. Solve one problem and many more will arise.

“By far the biggest difficulty Step faces is this,” he said.

“We have the high-level master plan in place, but not the details of exactly how everything will look. But before you start building it, you need to know the details.

“It’s not the perfect way to run a project, but it’s the kind of challenge you take on when the world is under existential threat, which is what we are.”

Officials are interested in keeping the scale of Step as compact and manageable as possible to try to stay on budget, on time, and to give Fusion the best chance of being a viable long-term power source and becoming a a lasting success.

‘Hubristic to give guarantees of cast iron’

Uncertainty about the viability of fusion and the pragmatism of an engineer have left Methven less enthusiastic than politicians promising fusion-powered homes in the next decade or two.

“We have a clear goal from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero to move towards first operations in 2040 and the team and I will do everything we can to achieve it,” he told The Telegraph.

“But, equally, I think it would be arrogant to give cast-iron assurances that the lights in this room work with that plant’s fusion within a particular timeframe.”

Scientists are skipping physical tests for Step, instead relying on a “digital twin” powered by the world’s most powerful supercomputers to fix any problems.

Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Energy, said: “The world needs fusion power like never before, it has the potential to provide ‘base load’ power, underpinning renewables such as wind and solar.”