The 3.5-Year Build to First Unit
From Q2 2027 groundbreaking to first tritium, the first-of-a-kind breeder is planned on a roughly three-and-a-half-year path.
Build duration
The first-of-a-kind (FOAK) breeder is planned on a build of roughly 3.5 years, from construction start in Q2 2027 to first tritium near 2030. The duration reflects a compact spherical tokamak with a demanding but bounded set of components, not a large power station.
Phasing
- Site preparation and civil works, in parallel with long-lead magnet and vessel procurement
- Component fabrication: magnets, vacuum vessel, blanket modules, divertor, cryoplant
- Assembly and integration in sequence around the centerpost and vessel
- Commissioning: vacuum, cryogenic, magnet energization, then plasma
- Physics gates and first tritium
Why 3.5 years is plausible for FOAK
Compactness helps. A spherical tokamak concentrates the hardest engineering in the centerpost and central solenoid region, which shortens some structural spans and reduces total material relative to a large aspect-ratio device. The gain-only requirement removes balance-of-plant needed for net electric conversion. The schedule is nonetheless a first-of-a-kind estimate; later NOAK and BOAK units are planned to build faster as procurement and assembly mature.
Honest status
No unit is built yet. The 3.5-year figure is a plan, not an achievement, and it depends on magnet supply, licensing timing, and assembly execution proceeding as designed. The program states schedule risk openly and retires it through the gate program rather than assuming it away.