Magnetic confinement fusion is an approach to generating fusion energy that uses magnetic fields to confine the 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. A 500-MW heat generating fusion plant using tokamak magnetic confinement geometry is currently being built in France (see ITER).