Seoul National University Applied Superconductivity Center Participates in the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) STEP Nuclear Fusion Project

• Based on the progress of the Ministry of Science and ICT-supported PRISM program, Seoul National University has signed a joint research agreement with UKAEA valued at 1 million pound.
• The collaboration will begin with the development of high-current, high-temperature superconducting cables and expand into research on high-temperature superconductor magnet systems for commercial fusion power plants.

The College of Engineering at Seoul National University announced that the Applied Superconductivity Center, led by Professor Seungyong Hahn from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has officially joined the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) nuclear fusion project led by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).

STEP is a major British national project led by UKIFS (UK Industrial Fusion Solutions), a subsidiary of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), aiming to construct the world’s first commercial fusion power plant by 2040 (Figure 1). During Phase 1 (2019–2024) of the three-phase program, £220 million (approximately 390 billion KRW) has been allocated to develop the conceptual design of a fusion prototype power plant based on high-temperature superconducting magnets, to be built in Nottinghamshire West Burton. Seoul National University's Applied Superconductivity Center and UKAEA have signed a joint research agreement worth £1 million (approximately 1.7 billion KRW) running until March 2025. The collaboration will start with research on high-current, high-temperature superconducting cables and later expand to magnet system research (Figure 2).

Fusion power, often described as harnessing an "artificial sun," is being researched globally for its potential as a sustainable and clean energy source for the future. The magnetic confinement method, which uses the strong magnetic fields of superconducting magnets to control plasma, has been adopted in projects such as South Korea’s KSTAR and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), currently under construction by a coalition of 35 countries. However, the large size of magnets, exceeding 20 meters, and the immense construction costs, reaching tens of trillions of won, have delayed commercialization to beyond 2050. Recently, a breakthrough in no-insulation,high-temperature superconductor  technology, first proposed by Professor Seungyong Han of Seoul National University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has opened the door to the possibility of "compact fusion." This innovation reduces the size of superconducting magnets to less than one-fifth of their original size, dramatically cutting construction and operational costs. Over the past few years, this concept has attracted over 10 trillion KRW in private investment globally, leading to the creation of numerous startups and government-industrial partnerships.In July 2024, the South Korean government announced the "Fusion Energy Realization Acceleration Strategy," a 1.2 trillion KRW initiative to develop fusion technologies, including high-temperature superconducting magnet technology. STEP is anticipated to be a game-changer in this acceleration strategy, aiming to commercialize fusion power plants with capacities exceeding 100 MW—enough to supply electricity to over 200,000 4-people households—by the 2040s, significantly advancing the progress towards commercial fusion power deployment.

The high-current, high-temperature superconducting cable under development in this joint research serves as a critical component for superconducting magnets, which are expected to account for approximately 30% of fusion reactor construction costs. This technology represents a crucial innovation for the miniaturization of fusion systems (Figure 3). The joint research builds on the progress made by the PRISM (Project for Research and Innovation in Superconducing Magnet, director: Sangjin Lee, Visiting Professor at SNU ECE) project, funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea under the Ministry of Science and ICT, and led by Seoul National University’s Applied Superconductivity Center. The effort is spearheaded by the Applied Superconductivity Center, with contributions from participating companies Powernix and Standard Magnet. Launched in 2022, the PRISM research group operates under the motto, "The nation as one laboratory, one university." Over five years, it is supported by a total budget of 46.4 billion KRW over 5 years, involving 27 industry-academia-research institutions and over 220 researchers. PRISM has systematically categorized the widely applicable high-temperature superconducting magnets into four forms and seven key technologies—the first such effort globally— and is actively developing diverse core foundational technologies with the goal of mass production and commercialization.

Powernix (CEO Kwanghee Yoon), a small-medium-sized enterprise in the power systems sector, has collaborated with Seoul National University’s Applied Superconductivity Center through PRISM and have acquired a high-temperature superconducting cable manufacturing technology. Within just two years of the project’s inception, the company was designated as an official partner to supply test high-temperature superconducting cables for the high-temperature superconducting magnets, a crucial component of the STEP system. Standard Magnet (CEO Jaemin Kim) is a Seoul National University startup founded in June 2024, based on the outcomes of the PRISM research project. The company is actively participating in the development and application of various high-temperature superconducting magnets, with the goal of becoming a global corporation in the field of high-temperature superconducting magnet technology.


Figure 1. Conceptual illustration of the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) fusion reactor under development by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) (Source: https://step.ukaea.uk/)

Figure 2. Components of the high-temperature superconducting magnet system for nuclear fusion: (1) Wires, (2) Cables, (3) Magnets, (4) Systems

The UKAEA-Seoul National University joint research agreement will begin with cable development and expand to magnets and systems. (Sources: Wires – https://sunam2004.tradekorea.com/main.do; Cables – Provided by SNU; Magnets – K. J. Chung et al., Design and Fabrication of VEST at SNU, presented at 16th International Workshop on Spherical Torus, Sep. 27-30, 2011.; Systems – https://actu.epfl.ch/news/welcome-mast-upgrade-a-new-fusion-device/)


Figure 3. High-temperature superconducting cable under development by the research team at Seoul National University's Applied Superconductivity Center for the STEP TF (Toroidal Field) magnet.

[Broadcast Coverage]
- SBS: "The UK Embarks on 'Fusion Acceleration,' Korea Provides Superconductor Technologies" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHP1mmeoJ0w)
- YTN: "Will the UK’s 'Nuclear Fusion Dream' be realized with Seoul National University?" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBjb1rPbO8A)

[Inquiries]
Professor Seungyong Hahn
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University
Phone: +82-2-880-1495
Email: hahnsy@snu.ac.kr

Source: https://ece.snu.ac.kr/ece/news?md=v&bbsidx=56008
Translated by: Dohyung Kim, English Editor of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, kimdohyung@snu.ac.kr