- World Economic Forum today announced its selection of the world’s 49 most promising Technology Pioneers 2015
- UK company Tokamak Energy recognised for its approach to accelerate the delivery of fusion energy – a safe CO2-free, long-term energy source
- US and UK-based companies make up 80% of awardees
The full list of recognized Technology Pioneers can be viewed here
Geneva, 5 August 2015 – Tokamak Energy has today been recognised by the World Economic Forum as one of the world’s most innovative businesses. The company, which aims to accelerate the development of cost-effective, clean energy from fusion, has been named a 2015 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer.
Tokamak Energy aims to fast track the development of fusion energy by combining two emerging technologies – compact, spherical tokamaks and high-temperature superconductors. It is one of only 49 companies to receive the prestigious distinction from the World Economic Forum this year, which honours innovative organisations from around the world that are poised to have a significant impact on business and society.
“To be recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer alongside so many other innovative ideas (both past and present) is a great endorsement of our approach to realising a future energy source for the world,” said David Kingham, Chief Executive Officer, Tokamak Energy. “The world needs a clean base-load energy solution that is abundant, safe and CO2-free. Fusion is one of the few options available and we believe it is critical to find the quickest, most cost effective and realistic pathway to fusion energy.”
Tokamak Energy was chosen by a professional jury from hundreds of candidates as one of the 49 selected companies. Through this award it will have access to the most influential and sought-after business and political network in the world, and be invited to the World Economic Forum’s “Summer Davos” in Dalian, China, this September, or the Annual Meeting in Davos in January.
As in previous years, American-based entrepreneurs continue to dominate the list of technology pioneers: they account for more than two-thirds of the recipients, followed by the United Kingdom (4), Israel and the Netherlands (2), and individual recipients of Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Taiwan, China. France and Spain were among the countries not counting a recipient.
The Technology Pioneers were selected from among hundreds of applicants by a selection committee of 68 academics, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and corporate executives. Notable members of the committee include Arianna Huffington (founder, Huffington Post) and Henry Blodget (editor-in-chief, Business Insider). The committee based its decisions on criteria including innovation, potential impact, working prototype, viability and leadership.
Tokamak Energy joins notable past winners including Google (2001), Wikimedia (2007), Mozilla (2007), Kickstarter (2011) and Dropbox (2011). More information on past winners can be found here.
For more information regarding this press release, please contact Peter Vanham, Media Lead, Technology Pioneers, at peter.vanham@weforum.org, or +41 79 620 91 29.
For more information about this year’s World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers, visit http://www.weforum.org/techpioneers.
For more information about Tokamak Energy, including interview and photo requests, please contact Niall Moran, Proof Communication, at niall@proofcommunication.com +44 (0) 78 90678102
For more background on Tokamak Energy, go to http://www.tokamakenergy.co.uk
About Tokamak Energy
Tokamak Energy is a private company working to develop compact fusion power. The company was originally established to design and develop small Spherical Tokamaks and compact fusion reactors for a range of applications. Since then, the strategy has evolved to focus on building a pilot plant to exceed fusion energy breakeven.
Tokamak Energy has grown from Culham Laboratory, the world’s leading centre for magnetic fusion energy research and home to the world’s most powerful tokamak, JET, which produced 16MW of fusion power in 1997. Tokamak Energy is particularly focused on Spherical Tokamaks, pioneered at Culham, because these compact devices can achieve a much higher plasma pressure for a given magnetic field than conventional tokamaks, i.e. they are more efficient. Combining Spherical Tokamaks with High Temperature Superconductors, which can give higher magnetic field than conventional superconductors at more attainable temperatures, means we can achieve high fusion power from compact tokamaks.
About the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests (www.weforum.org).
