Abstract
This theme issue collects together papers summarising the conceptual design of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP). In 2019, the UK government funded the first design stages of a prototype fusion powerplant based on a compact toroidal geometry, called STEP. The primary technical aims of STEP are to produce net energy, to be self-sufficient in tritium fuel and to demonstrate a maintenance regime that would extrapolate to appropriate availability for commercial powerplants. After 5 years and over 1000 person-years of detailed scientific and engineering conceptual design, this theme issue acts as a compendium of the current design basis for STEP, noting that this is a snapshot in time and that the design will continue to evolve. This article is part of the theme issue 'Delivering Fusion Energy - The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP)'.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 20230416 |
Journal | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |
Volume | 382 |
Issue number | 2280 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 26 2024 |
Keywords
- fusion energy
- magnetic confinement fusion
- plasma physics