Park People: Dr David Kingham, Tokamak Energy

From achieving plasma temperatures six times hotter than the sun’s core, to securing multi-million-pound funding, the Milton Park team chats to David Kingham, Tokamak Energy’s Executive Vice Chairman and former CEO.

Hi David, please can you tell us a bit about Tokamak Energy? 

Tokamak Energy aims to accelerate the development of fusion energy. Building on decades of research in Oxfordshire, we’re working towards achieving commercially viable fusion energy by the 2030s. 

A core element of our innovation is our high-temperature superconducting magnets. These magnets are robust, compact, easy to cool and deliver double the field strength of conventional superconducting magnets. Not only are they crucial for achieving magnetic confinement fusion but they also hold immense potential in other applications, which we are exploring through our new TE Magnetics division. 

What does your role as Executive Vice Chairman involve? 

In my current role, I work closely with our CEO Warrick Matthews and his senior team, to support the company’s transition from being primarily research and development-focused to becoming more commercially driven. 

What do you enjoy most about your role? 

Fusion energy is one of the most exciting, challenging and important goals of humankind. There is continuing scope for innovation and Tokamak Energy has a unique approach, both technically and commercially, which makes it exciting to be involved in.  

I particularly enjoy seeing the technical challenges being overcome, milestones being achieved and I’m constantly inspired by the brilliant innovations coming from TE Magnetics. 

It’s also great that I’m able to make connections locally, nationally and across the world. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in technology? 

I’m a scientist at heart! I studied theoretical physics at Cambridge but I’ve always believed that science should deliver real-world benefits. For that to happen, technology, engineering, innovation, entrepreneurship and investment are essential. 

Have there been any particularly rewarding moments in your career so far? 

The standout moments for me have to be the technical milestones. Achieving a record magnetic field strength of 24 tesla* at Milton Park and 26.2 tesla at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, using high-temperature superconducting magnets, was a significant achievement.  

Another big moment was reaching an astonishing 100-million-degree Celsius plasma temperature in our fusion facility, which is the threshold temperature for commercial fusion and is six times hotter than the sun’s core. 

It was also incredibly rewarding to secure over $300m (£246.2m) in funding, especially for a UK-based pre-revenue research and development company. 

*Tesla is a measure of strength of magnetic fields. 

Are there any exciting projects or developments at Tokamak Energy you can share? 

There’s a lot happening! We’ve just announced a $52m (£42.7m) project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the UK’s Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. This project will upgrade our ST40 fusion facility to advance the science and technology needed for a future fusion pilot plant.  

The scope of the project is technically exciting but what’s particularly notable is the collaboration between two governments to support top quality scientific research on a privately built device. ST40 represents an investment of around $100m (£82m) to date, and its achievements in just five years rival larger devices that have taken billions of dollars and decades to develop.  

There are a few other projects up our sleeve for now but let’s just say I expect 2025 to be scientifically, technically and commercially very exciting… 

What excites you most about the future of Tokamak Energy or the fusion energy industry as a whole? 

Fusion research was once confined to government laboratories, where progress advanced at a slow pace. Now, private ventures have become involved and the progress with high-temperature superconducting magnets has been dramatic. 

The way forward is through public-private partnerships that aim to combine the speed and agility of private fusion ventures with the funding and validation from public bodies. If we get this right, it will look like the relationship between SpaceX and NASA which resulted in a 100-fold reduction in the cost of a space launch. We can do the same for fusion.  

What do you like most about being based at Milton Park? 

Tokamak Energy has been based at Milton Park since 2013, when we were just six people. The Park has provided us with the flexibility to expand as needed and today, we’re a team of 260! 

This ability to scale up without the disruption of relocating has been invaluable to our growth. Plus, the location and transport links are perfect for attracting the highly skilled and specialised talent that we need. 

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