Daniel CleryThe 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.“Any new device is welcome because it brings new insights,” says Tony Donné, director of EUROfusion, the European Union’s fusion program.