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noelcowardspeaksout OP t1_irx1xl2 wrote

There was a magnetic field density hurdle that MIT broke, described as a watershed moment in the development of fusion -

"It was a moment three years in the making, based on intensive research and design work: On September 5, 2021, for the first time, a large high-temperature superconducting electromagnet was ramped up to a field strength of 20 tesla, the most powerful magnetic field of its kind ever created on Earth. That successful demonstration helps resolve the greatest uncertainty in the quest to build the world’s first fusion power plant that can produce more power than it consumes, according to the project’s leaders at MIT "

Because of the improved materials the machines can be built a lot smaller, they can attain sustained fusion, and they will be a lot cheaper. This much is now widely accepted.

The UK design improves on the flat torus shape to increase magnetic flux further. The fact that it will be grid connected will mark an important milestone on this very long journey.

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mrkstr t1_irycu9x wrote

So, how long before it's operational?

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smopecakes t1_iryz35s wrote

The physics for the MIT company is being tested in the SPARC reactor under construction, they hope to run a burning plasma in 2026

If that works they'd like to build a 200+MW reactor by 2035. The UK's STEP design is not as strong as the MIT design so it would have a lower magnetic field, however per size and magnetic field it produces 8x more power. It has some notable disadvantages though which is why it's nice to see both being tried

There are several candidates for the first grid connected fusion reactor that plan to build before STEP. Ironically the doubt about it being the first grid fusion reactor is kind of backwards, it's not that it's so unlikely to work but that it's fairly likely others will work first

The big catch that remains may be whether they can be built to produce commercially competitive power

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