Scientists at the US Department of Energy's DIII-D National Fusion Facility have released a new concept for a compact fusion reactor design they say can help define the technology necessary for commercial fusion power. The Compact Advanced Tokamak concept enables a higher-performance, self-sustaining configuration that holds energy more efficiently, allowing it to be built at a reduced scale and cost.

The first project of the Chinese Helium-Cooled Ceramic Breeder Test Blanket System for the Iter fusion reactor project was launched on 15 March at China National Nuclear Corporation's Southwestern Institute of Physics in Chengdu, Sichuan province. It marks the start of China's implementation phase of tritium breeding technology in Iter.

The US National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has called for urgent investment by the government and private sector to enable a pilot fusion plant to be operational in the 2035-2040 timeframe.

General Atomics has completed the construction and testing of the first of seven superconducting magnet modules that will make up the Central Solenoid of the ITER international fusion machine. The module is part of the USA's largest contribution to the fusion project, and will be shipped to the ITER construction site in France later this year.

The UK and Japan have signed a research and technology deployment collaboration agreement to help automate nuclear decommissioning and aspects of fusion energy production. The collaboration is expected to lead to new robotics and automation techniques used in Japan and the UK.

The ITER Organisation has selected the contractors to carry out assembly and installation activities inside the Tokamak Complex at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter), under construction in Cadarache, France. These contracts are the last major assembly and installation contracts planned for first-phase Iter assembly.

The UK government has identified nuclear power as a way to help the country achieve the four-fold increase in clean electricity generation needed to achieve its net zero target. Its long-awaited Energy White Paper published today notes that renewables now account for over one-third of electricity generation, up from 7% in 2010, but "building on this foundation" the country will "need to go further".

The UK government announced this week its invitation to local communities to put forward proposals to host the country's prototype fusion energy power plant. The successful site will be home to the construction of STEP - the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production - that is targeted for completion by 2040. At a media briefing ahead of the government's announcement, Professor Ian Chapman, CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, explained why this is an exciting prospect for the whole world.

The UK government has called on local communities across the country to put forward proposals to host the UK’s prototype fusion energy power plant. Today's announcement follows Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and the UK’s ambition to be the first country in the world to commercialise fusion energy technology.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority's fusion energy experiment - the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade tokamak at Culham Science Centre - has achieved first plasma for the first time. MAST Upgrade will be the forerunner of the UK's prototype fusion power plant - Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) - due for completion by 2040. It will also aid preparations for Iter - the world's largest science megaproject, under construction in the South of France, which intends to demonstrate fusion power on an industrial scale.

After leaving the Iter project in 2003, Canada has now signed a cooperation agreement with the ITER Organisation for the transfer of Canadian-supplied tritium, and tritium-related equipment and technology. The agreement follows the signing in April 2018 of a Memorandum of Understanding to explore how Canada could participate in the project to construct the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.

Harworth Group plc has announced the completion of the UK Atomic Energy Authority's new nuclear fusion technology research facility at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. When it opens later this year, the 2500-square-metre facility will develop and test joining technologies for fusion materials and components, including novel metals and ceramics.