General Atomics to Design First Full-Scale Fusion Blanket Test Facility

New research center would mark a step towards realizing reliable, abundant fusion energy

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--General Atomics (GA) announced today that the company is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop design concepts for a facility dedicated to testing full-scale fusion power-plant “blankets,” a critical system that has never been tested at this scale.

A new Fusion Blanket Component Test Facility (BCTF) would enable scientists and engineers to evaluate integrated fusion blanket systems. These systems use specialized lithium-based materials—solid, liquid, or salt—that line the inside of a fusion vessel to capture energy and produce the tritium needed to sustain fusion reactions. Successful testing would address a major scientific and engineering challenge on the path to realizing the world’s first commercial fusion power plant.

“This is an important phase for fusion energy in the United States,” said Dr. Anantha Krishnan, senior vice president of the General Atomics Energy Group. “No one has tested a fusion blanket at this scale. While there are more research and development challenges ahead, a BCTF brings us closer to turning fusion from proven science into practical, sustainable power.”

“This collaboration marks a critical step toward realizing fusion’s promise,” said Pattrick Calderoni, fusion program lead at Idaho National Laboratory. “A BCTF will enable us to test and qualify the components that will make fusion power possible.”

The public-private partnership was initiated by a seed investment from the U.S. Department of Energy, provided to INL to launch preconceptual design and lay the groundwork for establishing key collaborations. In addition to GA, the collaboration will include Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Kyoto Fusioneering, the University of California San Diego, and other key collaborators across industry and academia.

The plan is to develop a design that would leverage GA’s established Magnet Technologies Center, the former site where the ITER Central Solenoid, the world’s most powerful pulsed superconducting magnet, was completed last year. If the project proceeds to full construction, the existing infrastructure provides the advanced equipment and expertise needed to move the project on a faster timeline.

Engineers would use the facility to confirm that circulating blanket fluids can effectively remove heat, withstand mechanical stress, and safely extract fuel at power plant levels—critical steps needed before advancing to more complex neutron and tritium testing.

“The Blanket Test Facility would give the fusion community the speed and scale needed to de-risk next-generation blanket designs,” said Dr. Brian Grierson, director of Fusion Energy Technologies at General Atomics. “It’s where innovation meets practicality, and where we transform theory into real-world systems.”

As an associated effect, BCTF could also strengthen California’s growing image as a global hub for fusion research and engineering, particularly in San Diego. GA operates the DIII-D National Fusion Facility on behalf of the DOE, the nation’s largest magnetic-fusion user facility and testbed. San Diego hosts the Fusion Data Science and Digital Engineering Center, major academic programs at UC San Diego and San Diego State University, and a growing network of private-sector and government collaborators.

The emerging ecosystem was recently bolstered by California senate bill 80 (SB 80), which created the California Fusion Research and Development Innovation Initiative, the first state program of its kind to accelerate commercialization of fusion technologies. Ongoing efforts by the City of San Diego and the San Diego Regional Economic Development Council further reinforce the region’s potential role as a center for fusion innovation and advanced manufacturing.

“California, and San Diego in particular, is quickly becoming an epicenter of the fusion economy,” said Dr. Wayne Solomon, vice president of Magnetic Fusion Energy at General Atomics. “A Blanket Test Facility would represent the next stage in turning scientific discovery into sustainable power.”

Fusion is the same process that powers the sun. Instead of splitting atoms as in traditional nuclear power, fusion fuses light atomic nuclei to release massive amounts of energy, without long-lived radioactive waste. Researchers believe fusion could provide virtually limitless, carbon-free electricity to meet the growing global energy demand.

General Atomics is the first fusion company in the United States, establishing the first research program in 1957. Since then, the company has led international fusion research, advancing plasma physics, high-field magnets, and precision engineering. GA scientists and engineers in San Diego collaborate with teams across the globe to solve the scientific challenges of fusion energy, and develop critical solutions needed to make commercial fusion power a reality.

For more information about General Atomics’ research and technologies, visit GA.com/energy-systems-and-products.

About General Atomics

Since the dawn of the atomic age, General Atomics innovations have advanced the state of the art across the full spectrum of science and technology from nuclear energy and defense to medicine and high-performance computing. Behind a talented global team of scientists, engineers, and professionals, GA’s unique experience and capabilities continue to deliver safe, sustainable, economical, and innovative solutions to meet growing global demands.