UK-based Tokamak Energy has released the first images of its commercial fusion power plant, which it says will generate enough electricity to power 50,000 homes in the 2030s.

Tokamak Energy’s ST-E1 fusion pilot plant will demonstrate the capability of delivering electricity into the grid in the early 2030s and pave the way for globally deployable 500-MW commercial plants. They can be built next to large populations and centres of industry where power and heat is needed.

Fusion power plants can be connected to a traditional turbine to produce electricity as well as provide heat for multiple industrial uses, including metalworks, water desalination or hydrogen production. They will generate a lot of power from a small amount of fuel and take up small amounts of land compared to solar and wind farms.