Tokamak Energy – pioneers of commercial fusion energy – is set to double its workforce and the size of its facility in the UK, in a major expansion drive that will deliver a significant boost for UK fusion development and commercialisation.
More than 160 skilled new roles for scientists and engineers will be created at the company’s headquarters at the Milton Park scientific hub near Oxford over the next three years.
The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), visited the company’s headquarters recently to recognise this major expansion and to see first hand the progress that has already been made.
This year, the company, through its ST-40 spherical tokamak, is planning to be the first company in the world to achieve 100 million degrees Celsius temperature in a stable plasma, an essential cornerstone for economic fusion energy.
The UK Government has already provided backing to the UK’s efforts to deliver fusion through the ongoing STEP programme and provided Tokamak Energy with £10m as part of its Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) programme.
This recruitment drive comes as the company continues to pioneer commercial fusion energy that is clean, economical, and globally deployable. Tokamak Energy is developing two technologies crucial for commercial fusion power – high-temperature superconductor (HTS) magnets and compact spherical tokamaks.
Tokamak Energy is developing significant additional space at its Milton Park headquarters as it accelerates its technological and commercial plans. This will enable further landmark achievements with the ST-40 in the future.
Chris Kelsall, CEO of Tokamak Energy, said: “We have the most advanced spherical tokamak in the world, and we are a global leader in HTS magnets. We already combine world-leading scientific, engineering, industrial and commercial capabilities under one roof.
“This expansion underpins our vision to pioneer commercial fusion energy, which is clean, economic and globally deployable. We will continue to attract the best talent here in the UK and globally as we develop the fusion power plant of tomorrow, while commercialising the technology we have already developed.”
Business & Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “We need trailblazing companies like Tokamak Energy to harness the power of fusion and demonstrate its remarkable potential as a potentially limitless, clean and safe source of energy for the future.
“It was fantastic to visit Tokamak Energy to see first-hand how they are doubling down on their efforts to commercialise fusion, expand their site and create 160 new high-skilled jobs – a massive boost to our plans to support the rapidly growing fusion supply chain across the UK and to cement our position as a global science superpower.”
The UK is a global centre for the development of fusion, a new source of limitless clean, carbon-free, safe and secure energy that will be essential for deep decarbonisation well before 2050.
The plans announced today by Tokamak Energy are also set to benefit the rapidly growing UK fusion supply chain with over 200 companies already providing materials and technology.
