Fusion: from Concepts to Technologies - PHY00057M

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Module summary

Fusion promises an environmentally low-impact, compact energy that uses fuels – deuterium and tritium sourced from lithium – available to everyone. In this module, you will explore why the subject sits at the interface between science and engineering and how governments and businesses are preparing for this new source of energy. You will also learn how fusion technologies, whether by inertial or magnetic confinement, guide their investments and decisions. You’ll examine why fusion is taking so long, and come to understand how scientific challenges are being addressed right now to enable technological solutions to some of the most perplexing questions of our age. A key element is containing the extraordinary temperatures needed for ions to collide with sufficient speed to fuse, all the while contending with the fact that at such temperatures, matter becomes a plasma, an excellent conductor of heat and electricity which behaves in complex ways that are still not fully understood. You will encounter other new challenges: the questions of supply and handling of tritium, the stresses on materials faced with immense power densities, and many more.

Key Topics and Skills

• Energy & Humanity.

• Fusion: what it is and why we care.

• Defining success (thermonuclear fusion, breakeven, ignition, safety, environment, cost) & choosing the fuel (and the appropriate conditions).

• Introduction to plasma physics

• Principles behind magnetic and inertial confinement.

• Fusion experiments: past & present.

• Fusion technologies: promises & challenges.

• Fusion, investments & you: what needs to be done and career outlooks.

• What a large-scale fusion rollout might look like.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2026-27

Module aims

Subject content aims:

• To introduce why fusion energy sources are needed, how these sources will fit within a mixed energy economy, and highlight how public, governmental and industrial sectors are preparing.

• To understand the principles of fusion and fusion as an energy source.

• To illustrate the leading fusion energy schemes, identifying the commonalities and differences.

• To understand the components of a fusion device, and how this complexity is effectively structured into technical parts or tasks.

• To appreciate how scientific and technological developments are combined to solve problems.

Graduate skills aims:

• To be able to explain concisely and accurately from a technical perspective fusion, fusion energy, the opportunities and challenges these technologies face.

• Differentiate between and apply appropriately qualitative and quantitative methods to explain fusion and fusion device behaviour.

• Identify reliable sources of information, critically analyse and synthesise this information for different audiences.

• Communicate effectively with peers, and form learning/working groups.

Module learning outcomes

Subject content learning outcomes
After successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

• Articulate why the development of fusion energy is important, specifying the advantages a future source will have to society.

• Explain the principles and specifications of a fusion device, identifying the pros and cons of different technological choices.

• Discuss, with qualitative and quantitative examples, why fusion energy is challenging and how these challenges are being addressed.

Graduate skills learning outcomes
After successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

• Convey the potential and challenges of establishing fusion as an energy producing technology.

• Articulate in written form an evidence-based technical assessment of a fusion technology.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Module feedback

Marks for all summative assessments will be made available to you and your supervisor via e:vision.

You may receive formative feedback that may be at a whole class or individual level. Progress of the module can be discussed with the module leader or GTA and your supervisor.

Indicative reading

Why trust science? Naomi Oreskes