Tokamak Energy to expand nuclear fusion partnerships with Eni, Japanese strategics

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Tokamak Energy to expand nuclear fusion partnerships with Eni, Japanese strategics

UK fusion technology developer Tokamak Energy plans to expand its global partnerships as it commercialises nuclear fusion based power generation. In an exclusive interview with Energy Voice, Tokamak Energy chief executive Warrick Matthews stressed the need to “get the right partnerships on board”. Matthews, who joined the company in 2022 from Rolls-Royce where he was […]

UK fusion technology developer Tokamak Energy plans to expand its global partnerships as it commercialises nuclear fusion based power generation.

In an exclusive interview with Energy Voice, Tokamak Energy chief executive Warrick Matthews stressed the need to “get the right partnerships on board”.

Matthews, who joined the company in 2022 from Rolls-Royce where he was chief procurement officer for the civil aerospace division, said such partnerships will be instrumental in the growth of the business and commercialising its core technology.

Tokamak Energy has already partnered with a raft of companies as part of its work on a UK government-backed programme to develop nuclear fusion at scale.

Its partners on the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme include Italian energy supplier Eni, nuclear manufacturer Westinghouse, and engineering companies AtkinsRéalis and Momentum.

Matthews said it could expand its partnership with Eni in the future in connection with its role as an energy supplier.

“We’re partnering to bring value to the STEP programme in the UK,” Matthews said of the partnership with Eni.

“It’s a public-private partnership, so it’s actually looking to industry players to come together in consortia and be a large part of developing the technology; but also, building the supply chain so you can roll out these devices in the future. That’s where we’ll be working together strongly.”

“And we’re looking at more broadly at wider partnerships, but for the future,” he added. “Eni is a partner, so we would work together.”

Going global

Matthews indicated that Tokamak and the Italian energy supplier could partner on a possible rollout of fusion technology in Europe.

“Eni is very proactively investing in fusion and developing technology. It wants to operate fusion plants in the future and it doesn’t want to operate a black box. They want to be an expert.”

Tokamak Energy is also tapping the Japanese market by partnering with corporations such as Furukawa Electric, Sumitomo and Hitachi.

“If I look east in Japan, we’re partners with Furukawa Electric,” said Matthews. “We also have a collaboration agreement with Sumitomo. We [are] starting to work extensively with the likes of Hitachi. So again, big industrial players that can give a scale and presence in country.”

Tokamak’s technology partners in the US meanwhile include General Atomics and ATI Materials, with the company aiming to have its technology at the heart of such organisations.

Tokamak Energy, which is 15 years old, has raised a total of $330 million of capital historically, much of which was ploughed into developing technology and its ST40 device.

In November 2024, it secured $125m from strategic and existing investors to commercialise its fusion technology.

It also brought in additional capital from new investor Lingotto, which is part of the Exor/Agnelli group, and added in Furukawa Electric, one of its supply chain partners.

“As a result, we’ve got two unique opportunities in Japan,” said Matthews. “And then we’ve brought in other institutional and strategic investments ($125 million). So we are continuing our R&D with our device. We also recently announced both the US and UK governments coming into that programme.”

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