Compact fusion reactor ‘could fit in truck’

Lockheed Martin says it has made a technological breakthrough in developing a power source based on nuclear fusion, and the first reactors, small enough to fit on the back of a truck, could be ready for use in a decade.

Tom McGuire, who heads the project, said he and a small team had been working on fusion energy at Lockheed’s secretive Skunk Works for about four years, but were now going public to find potential partners in industry and government for their work.

Initial work demonstrated the feasibility of building a 100-megawatt reactor — which could power 80,000 homes — measuring 7ft by 10ft, which could fit on the back of a large truck, and is about 10 times smaller than current reactors, McGuire told reporters.