Tokamak Energy launches TE Magnetics

UK fusion pioneer Tokamak Energy has launched TE Magnetics, a new business division focussed on the industrial deployment of high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology.

Tokamak Energy Demo 4 Lab
Tokamak Energy Demo 4 Lab - Tokamak Energy

Designed to confine extremely hot plasma in a tokamak fusion reactor, HTS magnets can enable magnetic fields for applications likely to drive scientific discoveries, improve medical diagnostics, and contribute to advances in the defence industry.

Fusion is expected to contribute to the transition to a clean and secure energy future and TE Magnetics aims to become the market-leading designer and supplier of HTS magnets to the fusion industry.

With over a decade of advanced HTS magnet research, generating more than 200 patents, TE Magnetics is introducing its ultra-high field, robust and cost-effective technology stack at this week’s Applied Superconductivity Conference (ASC) in Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

In a statement, Dr Liam Brennan, TE Magnetics director, said: “The era of high temperature superconductors is here. TE Magnetics is born from Tokamak Energy’s world-class fusion mission and is centred on opening new fields of performance in applications that will change the world in which we live today. We’re taking our knowledge, skills and talent forward to disrupt existing and create new markets for magnet technologies over the next decade, including renewable energy, science, and land, water, air and space propulsion.”

Compact HTS magnets generate far stronger fields and operate at higher temperatures than conventional low temperature superconductors (LTS), which makes HTS more energy efficient and easier to manage and removes the requirement for complex liquid helium infrastructure. Tokamak Energy said that by enabling more energy-efficient and robust, ‘quench-safe’ technologies, HTS magnets can contribute to reducing energy consumption and decarbonisation.

The company added that HTS can enhance the efficiency and power density of renewable energy devices, including wind turbines, and has the potential to provide grid stabilisation and load levelling through energy storage.

Potential propulsion applications include magneto hydrodynamic drive (MHD) and magnetic levitation, while ultra-high field (UHF) HTS magnet technology will enable high performance in areas such as physics research and materials analysis.

TE Magnetics will offer a suite of HTS solutions, from modelling and prototyping through to fully integrated magnet system development and delivery, including large scale manufacturing.