The Institute for Plasma Research in Gandhinagar has suggested a step-by-step plan to move India from laboratory fusion experiments to a real power plant that sends electricity to the grid.

What is fusion?
Fusion is the same process that powers the Sun. Two very light atoms (forms of hydrogen) join together to make a heavier atom (helium) and release a large amount of energy.

Why should India care?

• Fuel is abundant: Deuterium (a form of hydrogen) is present in water; tritium (another form) can be made from lithium.

• Inherent safety: If something goes wrong, the hot gas cools and the reaction stops by itself.

• Cleaner than today’s nuclear fission: There is no long-lived high-level waste.
  

How do we make fusion on Earth?

We heat a special gas called plasma to very high temperatures and hold it in place using strong magnets inside a doughnut-shaped chamber called a tokamak.

What is the Institute for Plasma Research’s (IPR) simple three-step plan?

1. Build “SST-Bharat” in India – (Steady State Superconducting Tokamak-1) a mid-sized, superconducting tokamak that acts like a national training ground. It will practise long, steady runs; better heating; better control; and parts that can handle very high heat. It will involve Indian companies from day one.

2. Create a “fusion–fission hybrid” step – use the intense neutrons from fusion to do useful work: make fresh fuel from thorium or depleted uranium and help reduce some long-lived waste from fission. This step also teaches us real-world handling of neutrons and tritium at larger scales.

3. Build an Indian fusion pilot plant – a first-of-its-kind, grid-connected unit in India that shows three things together: (a) net electricity going to the grid, (b) tritium is produced inside the plant and reused, and (c) the plant runs long, predictable pulses with safe remote maintenance. Think of it as the bridge between research and a repeatable commercial design.
   

Key terms

• Plasma: Very hot gas in which atoms are split into ions and electrons. It conducts electricity and responds to magnetic fields.

• Tokamak: A doughnut-shaped magnetic bottle that holds plasma for fusion.

• Superconducting magnet: A magnet made from special materials that carry electricity with almost no loss when cooled; it can make very strong magnetic fields.

• Burning plasma: A plasma that keeps itself hot mainly by the energy from the fusion reactions inside it, not by external heaters.

• Tritium breeding blanket: A layer around the plasma that contains lithium. Neutrons from fusion hit lithium and produce tritium. The blanket also removes heat for making electricity and protects parts from neutron damage.

• Fusion–fission hybrid: A system where fusion neutrons are used to make new nuclear fuel or reduce some long-lived waste from fission while we learn plant-scale handling of fuel and neutrons.

• Pilot plant: The first unit that sends power to the grid and proves all key loops (electricity, fuel, safety, maintenance) at the same time.

• Remote handling: Using robots and special tools to service parts inside areas that people cannot enter safely.

What India already has and what is still hard 

Strengths we already have

• Institutions and machines: Institute for Plasma Research, Indian tokamaks like ADITYA-U and SST-1, and a long record of contributions to a large international fusion project.

• People and firms: Indian teams and companies have worked on magnets, cryogenic systems, power supplies, vacuum vessels, and special high-heat parts.

• Policy direction: Fusion is now seen as a long-term clean power option that can sit alongside solar, wind, hydro, and advanced nuclear fission.
  

Four hard problems we must solve

• Power balance: The plant must make more electricity than it uses for magnets, cryogenics, pumps, and heaters.

• Surviving heat and neutron damage: Inner walls and “divertor” plates face extreme heat and a shower of neutrons that weaken metals. We need better materials, good cooling, and maintenance by robots.

• Making and reusing tritium: Tritium is rare in nature. A power plant must make it from lithium inside special sections around the plasma and then recover and reuse it safely.

• Running long and reliably: A real plant must run for many hours daily, start and stop predictably, and keep a high level of availability.

The phased pathway 

Goal: Move from experiments to pilot plant to a design that can be built many times, while growing Indian suppliers and Indian talent.

Phase A (first five years): build the base

• Complete key plasma control tests on Indian machines.

• Finalise the design of SST-Bharat and start building it with strong industry participation.

• Create national test stands for high-heat-flux parts, superconducting cables, and safe “dry” loops that mimic tritium systems.

• Start a Fusion Skills Mission with top universities to train engineers and scientists in plasma, materials, cryogenics, power electronics, controls, and safety.

Phase B (next seven years): operate SST-Bharat and hybrid testbeds

• Run SST-Bharat for long, steady pulses with reliable support systems.

• Start a hybrid neutron facility to practise fuel breeding studies and materials testing.

• Approve and certify Indian vendors for vacuum vessels, special steels, ceramics, cooling plates, and high-power electronics.

Phase C (ten to twenty years): build and run the Indian fusion pilot plant

• Target around two hundred to three hundred megawatt of fusion power and about two hundred and fifty megawatt of electricity to the grid.

• Prove three things: net electricity, tritium made and reused inside the plant, and many-hour operation with safe remote maintenance.

• Use the results to design a compact demonstration plant that can be built as a fleet.

Phase D (late 2030s and 2040s): commercial scale-up

• Move to a repeatable design and lower costs through learning.

• Link with firm renewable power, storage, hydrogen production, and modern grids.

• Export components and services through a “Make in India” fusion supply chain.

Enablers government and industry should set up now

• A National Fusion Energy Mission with clear goals, stable multi-year funding, and one coordinating authority; independent technical reviews every two years.

• A strong domestic supply chain with standard tests and long-term contracts for magnets, cryogenic plants, high-heat-flux components, radio-frequency and microwave heating systems, and vacuum hardware.

• Materials and irradiation programmes with universities and public labs to create metals and ceramics that survive neutron damage.

• A thousand-fellowship talent pipeline and joint industry–lab training centres.

• Early fusion-specific safety codes for tritium handling, remote maintenance, worker exposure, and waste categories, so rules grow with the machines.

• Continued work with international partners and responsible space for private Indian companies to build sub-systems.
   

Where does fusion fit?

India is already scaling solar, wind, hydro, storage, and aims to expand safer forms of nuclear fission. Fusion is not a near-term fix. It is a mid-century option for firm, clean baseload power. Starting now builds skills, standards, and suppliers so that India can choose fusion with confidence when the physics and engineering are ready.

Main risks and simple responses

• Timelines can slip: Set public milestones and adjust scope based on real progress.

• Early costs are high: Treat the first plant as a learning tool; design later plants for cost and ease of building.

• Materials and tritium are hard: Use hybrid testbeds, plan for lithium early, and share data with global partners.

• Talent is scarce: Offer mission-style careers, clear growth paths, and reliable funding.

• Public trust matters: Communicate safety, environment, and cost–benefit clearly from day one.
  

Key takeaways 

• Build SST-Bharat, practise long, steady operation, and involve Indian industry from the start.

• Use a fusion–fission hybrid step to learn neutron and fuel handling at larger scale and do useful work along the way.

• Aim for an Indian fusion pilot plant that proves electricity to the grid, tritium self-sufficiency, and reliable long pulses.

• Solve four big challenges: power balance, materials and heat, tritium production and reuse, and long, reliable runs.

• Create a National Fusion Mission, strong safety rules, a skills pipeline, and a domestic supply chain.

• See fusion as a mid-century complement to renewables and advanced fission, not a quick replacement.

Exam hook

Large energy shifts take decades. If India wants firm, clean baseload power beyond 2040, it must build machines, materials, fuel handling, safety rules, trained people, and capable suppliers now. The Institute for Plasma Research roadmap is a practical ladder: learn on an Indian tokamak, practise the hard subsystems in a hybrid step, and then prove a pilot plant that sends power to the grid and makes its own fuel. This is how India moves from research to leadership.

UPSC Mains question

“India’s fusion pathway must be mission-mode and industry-linked, not lab-only.”
Explain how a staged plan—can solve the critical hurdles of power balance, material survival, tritium production and reuse, and long-duration operation. (250 words)

UPSC Prelims question 

1. In a magnetic-confinement fusion power plant, which of the following is not the role of the tritium-breeding blanket?

1. Produce tritium from lithium using fusion neutrons

2. Remove heat for conversion to electricity

3. Confine the plasma inside the tokamak

4. Protect structural parts from neutron damage
   

Choose the correct answer:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 4 only

Answer: (c)
Explanation: The blanket makes tritium, removes heat, and shields components. Plasma is confined by magnetic fields, not by the blanket.

One-line wrap

Turn fusion from a distant dream into a clear ladder: build an Indian machine, learn by doing, prove a pilot plant, and then scale with Indian industry.