Magnetic confinement fusion is an approach to generating
fusion power that uses
magnetic fields (which is a magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials) to confine the hot fusion fuel in the form of a
plasma. Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, the other being
inertial confinement fusion. The magnetic approach is more highly developed and is usually considered more promising for energy production. Construction of a 500-MW heat generating fusion plant using
tokamak magnetic confinement geometry, the
ITER, began in
France in 2007.