Our Projects
Several opportunities will be given to members throughout the year to get hands on experience in handling real, fusion-related devices. Below shows some of the projects we have in store for this year.
Tabletop Fusor
This year, members will have the opportunity to design and create their own Tabletop Fusor.
A Tabletop Fusor is based on the Farnsworth Fusor, which uses inertial electrostatic confinement to produce and confine plasma.
The idea
Members will design their very own vacuum vessel, as well as a suitable electrical feedthrough, which will then be connected to an electrode inside the vessel, high voltage will then pass through the electrode, producing plasma.
This project will help demonstrate key design challenges that members will need to keep in mind, such as arcing, and maximising vacuum capabilities.
Members will then have the opportunity to actually test their fusors by bringing it to vacuum and applying a high voltage, verifying their design.
Showcase – 2026
The video shows one of our Tabletop Fusors in action, demonstrated at our 2026 Formula Fusion Hackathon.
As a high voltage, ~5kV, is applied to the electrode within the vessel, a nice purple plasma can be seen to form.
Fusor XL
The Fusor XL is similar to the Tabletop Fusors in that it also uses inertial electrostatic confinement.
This apparatus uses laboratory-grade vacuum equipment, allowing for much better vacuum, and more in-depth diagnostic work.
The Idea
Members will be able to conduct experiments on plasma that is produced within the Fusor XL vessel, and using non-intrusive means, actually characterise the plasma itself.
Minimak
The Minimak is a scaled down version of what is essentially a Tokamak. It uses magnetic confinement to produce and confine plasma, unlike the previous Fusor XL and Tabletop Fusor, which don’t use magnets, but rather electrodes and high voltage.
Once the Fusion Engineering Academy workshops have been completed, members will have the chance to design and contribute to the diagnostic systems used for characterising the plasma.
The diagnostics used in the Minimak will be intrusive unlike the Fusor XL, letting students research a completely different branch of diagnostics.