Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Warrick Matthews, CEO of Tokamak Energy, on fusion power plants in the 2040s, HTS magnets, and 1 MW per server rack.
Fusion energy promises CO2-free baseload power from a fuel so dense that one liter matches ten million liters of crude oil. After 24 years at Rolls-Royce, Warrick Matthews took over Tokamak Energy in January 2023 and rebuilt the business model: no power plant of its own, but high-temperature superconducting magnets as a systems business, with the UK's flagship STEP programme and stellarator developer Type One Energy as customers, backed by the acquisition of Ridgway Machines for industrial-scale production. He explains why pilot plants should prove energy gain by the mid-2030s with commercial rollout starting in the 2040s, why a fusion reactor holding two grams of fuel physically wants to stop rather than run away, how fast China is moving in the global race, and why NVIDIA's Feynman-class chips will need one megawatt per rack from 2029/2030, pulling superconductors into the data center. Also covered: electricity at 100 dollars per megawatt hour heading toward 50, industrial heat as a second market, and a prediction that ends on the Moon.
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:01 What is fusion energy?
00:03:10 Fuel & waste: seawater instead of uranium
00:05:10 Timeline: pilot plants by the mid-2030s
00:08:12 AI & data centers as accelerants
00:09:22 Safety: a reaction that wants to stop
00:11:05 500 MW: what one fusion plant delivers
00:12:14 Fusion vs. solar
00:13:40 24 years at Rolls-Royce, then fusion
00:17:19 ST40, HTS magnets & Ridgway Machines
00:23:09 Portfolio: fusion, TE Magnetics, Ridgway
00:24:14 Business model: systems provider, not plant builder
00:27:09 The global race: US, China, Germany
00:32:55 Tokamak Energy in numbers
00:34:26 Customers: STEP, Type One Energy, Japan
00:36:26 AI in fusion research
00:38:21 NVIDIA chips: 1 megawatt per rack
00:39:08 Data centers in orbit
00:41:06 Science fiction: a fusion reactor in a truck?
00:43:19 The future energy mix & industrial heat
00:46:21 Cooling, water & fuel supply
00:48:02 A bad day at a fusion plant
00:49:02 Costs: 100 dollars per MWh, target 50
00:50:54 Lifespan & footprint
00:52:07 Where Tokamak Energy is heading
00:55:36 Wildest prediction: industry on the Moon
Guest:
Warrick Matthews has led Tokamak Energy since January 2023, after 24 years at Rolls-Royce, most recently as Chief Procurement Officer of the Civil Aerospace division. Founded in 2009 as a spin-out from the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Tokamak Energy employs over 300 people in Oxfordshire, with subsidiaries in the US and Japan. The company operates ST40, the highest magnetic field spherical tokamak in the world, and Demo4, a world-first HTS fusion magnet system; its TE Magnetics division, launched in 2024, is already generating multi-million-pound revenues.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/warrick-matthews-50bab721
Website: tokamakenergy.com
deeptech Insights:
deeptech INSIGHTS is a long-form interview series for people who think about frontier technology and the future for a living. Host Sascha Roehrer sits down with executives, investors, researchers, and the people shaping what comes next. Produced by Börsenmedien AG, Germany's leading financial media house (DER AKTIONÄR, BÖRSE ONLINE, €uro, €uro am Sonntag).
Youtube English: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGwe6Ab4ZdSc
Youtube German: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYvuwOqohiSw
Spotify English: open.spotify.com/show/033ONjPa8CuRZwJ0wZyWPz?si=c6fe9d33623e4418
Spotify German: open.spotify.com/show/033ONlTEHwbLHanLrQ6SeC?si=738da62560ed4cd7
Guest suggestions & feedback: team@deeptech-report.de
This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
Warrick Matthews, CEO of Tokamak Energy, on fusion power plants in the 2040s, HTS magnets, and 1 MW per server rack.
Fusion energy promises CO2-free baseload power from a fuel so dense that one liter matches ten million liters of crude oil. After 24 years at Rolls-Royce, Warrick Matthews took over Tokamak Energy in January 2023 and rebuilt the business model: no power plant of its own, but high-temperature superconducting magnets as a systems business, with the UK's flagship STEP programme and stellarator developer Type One Energy as customers, backed by the acquisition of Ridgway Machines for industrial-scale production. He explains why pilot plants should prove energy gain by the mid-2030s with commercial rollout starting in the 2040s, why a fusion reactor holding two grams of fuel physically wants to stop rather than run away, how fast China is moving in the global race, and why NVIDIA's Feynman-class chips will need one megawatt per rack from 2029/2030, pulling superconductors into the data center. Also covered: electricity at 100 dollars per megawatt hour heading toward 50, industrial heat as a second market, and a prediction that ends on the Moon.
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:01 What is fusion energy?
00:03:10 Fuel & waste: seawater instead of uranium
00:05:10 Timeline: pilot plants by the mid-2030s
00:08:12 AI & data centers as accelerants
00:09:22 Safety: a reaction that wants to stop
00:11:05 500 MW: what one fusion plant delivers
00:12:14 Fusion vs. solar
00:13:40 24 years at Rolls-Royce, then fusion
00:17:19 ST40, HTS magnets & Ridgway Machines
00:23:09 Portfolio: fusion, TE Magnetics, Ridgway
00:24:14 Business model: systems provider, not plant builder
00:27:09 The global race: US, China, Germany
00:32:55 Tokamak Energy in numbers
00:34:26 Customers: STEP, Type One Energy, Japan
00:36:26 AI in fusion research
00:38:21 NVIDIA chips: 1 megawatt per rack
00:39:08 Data centers in orbit
00:41:06 Science fiction: a fusion reactor in a truck?
00:43:19 The future energy mix & industrial heat
00:46:21 Cooling, water & fuel supply
00:48:02 A bad day at a fusion plant
00:49:02 Costs: 100 dollars per MWh, target 50
00:50:54 Lifespan & footprint
00:52:07 Where Tokamak Energy is heading
00:55:36 Wildest prediction: industry on the Moon
Guest:
Warrick Matthews has led Tokamak Energy since January 2023, after 24 years at Rolls-Royce, most recently as Chief Procurement Officer of the Civil Aerospace division. Founded in 2009 as a spin-out from the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Tokamak Energy employs over 300 people in Oxfordshire, with subsidiaries in the US and Japan. The company operates ST40, the highest magnetic field spherical tokamak in the world, and Demo4, a world-first HTS fusion magnet system; its TE Magnetics division, launched in 2024, is already generating multi-million-pound revenues.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/warrick-matthews-50bab721
Website: tokamakenergy.com
deeptech Insights:
deeptech INSIGHTS is a long-form interview series for people who think about frontier technology and the future for a living. Host Sascha Roehrer sits down with executives, investors, researchers, and the people shaping what comes next. Produced by Börsenmedien AG, Germany's leading financial media house (DER AKTIONÄR, BÖRSE ONLINE, €uro, €uro am Sonntag).
Youtube English: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGwe6Ab4ZdSc
Youtube German: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYvuwOqohiSw
Spotify English: open.spotify.com/show/033ONjPa8CuRZwJ0wZyWPz?si=c6fe9d33623e4418
Spotify German: open.spotify.com/show/033ONlTEHwbLHanLrQ6SeC?si=738da62560ed4cd7
Guest suggestions & feedback: team@deeptech-report.de
This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
