Skip to content

United States · Magnetic confinement (tokamak)

Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

Operated by Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory · DOE · First operation 1982

Status: Decommissioned (1997)

The historic Princeton tokamak that first achieved deuterium-tritium fusion in the US and held the fusion power record for years.

TFTR at PPPL was the first US tokamak to use deuterium-tritium fuel, producing 10.7 MW of fusion power in 1994. Decommissioned in 1997, its scientific legacy directly shaped ITER and SPARC designs.

Key specifications

Major radius
2.4 m
Magnetic field
5 T

Milestones

  1. 1982

    First plasma

  2. 1994

    10.7 MW DT fusion power — US record

  3. 1997

    Decommissioned

Official website →