World-first ‘super’ magnet unveiled

A UK firm has announced a world-first set of “super” magnets that can be used for testing nuclear fusion power plants, reports British daily The Independent.

Tokamak Energy said the Demo4 magnet has a magnetic field strength that is nearly a million times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field, making it capable of confining and controlling the extremely hot plasma created during the fusion process.

Nuclear fusion has been hailed as the “holy grail” of clean energy, with scientists working on the technology since the 1950s.

The process involves mimicking the natural reactions that occur within the Sun, providing near-limitless energy without requiring fossil fuels and without producing hazardous waste.

Tokamak Energy is aiming to be the first private company to produce commercial fusion energy, with the goal of demonstrating grid-ready fusion in the early 2030s.

“This is a huge, visible moment that we’re really excited about,” said Dr Rod Bateman from Tokamak Energy.

“Our magnets enable the construction and operations of spherical tokamaks, and so are a game changer for getting clean, limitless fusion energy on the grid faster.”

Commercialisation of the power source still remains a long way off, though several major breakthroughs in recent years have given hope that it will be attainable within the next decade.

Last year, scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California became the first to achieve a net energy gain using nuclear fusion power.

LLNL described the feat as “one of the most significant scientific challenges ever undertaken by humanity” that would supercharge efforts to make fusion energy a reality.