Google DeepMind partners with Commonwealth Fusion Systems to optimise and control the SPARC tokamak with AI
DeepMind announced a research partnership with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) for CFS's SPARC tokamak, which aims to be the first magnetic-confinement device to produce net fusion energy. The work uses DeepMind's open-source JAX plasma simulator TORAX, RL and evolutionary search to find high-output operating scenarios, and RL controllers for real-time tasks such as spreading exhaust heat on the reactor wall. Google is also an investor in CFS.
Key facts
- TORAX: open-source, differentiable plasma transport simulator written in JAX; CFS: it 'saved us countless hours'
- Three strands: fast simulation (TORAX), searching operating scenarios with RL/evolutionary algorithms, and RL real-time control (e.g. heat-load distribution)
- Builds on DeepMind's 2022 RL tokamak magnetic-control work with EPFL's Swiss Plasma Center (TCV)
- Google has invested directly in CFS
Science result
- Field
- physics / plasma physics / fusion energy
- Problem
- Operating and controlling SPARC to reach net fusion energy (Q > 1)
- Result
- Partnership and tooling announced; no fusion result yet.
- AI system
- TORAX, reinforcement learning agents
- Human role
- Human-led with AI tools
- Verification
- Not applicable (partnership announcement)
- Status
- pending
What happened
DeepMind and CFS said they would use AI to plan and run SPARC's plasma campaigns before the machine reaches full power, with TORAX as the shared simulation layer.
Why it matters
It moves AI plasma control from academic demos (TCV, DIII-D) into the commissioning plan of a privately built machine that aims for net energy.
Changelog
- 2026-09-29: created
Related events
- Deep reinforcement learning controls fusion plasma in the TCV tokamak ★★★★
- AI controller predicts and avoids tearing instabilities in the DIII-D fusion reactor ★★★
- PPPL's PACMAN framework lets multiple AI models control a tokamak in ~20 ms, preventing a tearing mode ★★
Sources (2)
id: 2025-10-16-deepmind-cfs-torax-fusion · updated 2026-09-29 · open in the interactive timeline